Chief Marketer Staff

• Agencies

  JCPenney Says Online December Sales Increased “Strongly”

  J. C. Penney Company, Inc. said its comparable store sales decreased 3.8% for the five-week period ended Jan. 2.

• Agencies

  Affinion Acquires Italian Relationship Marketing Firm

  Loyalty marketing firm Affinion Group, Inc. has acquired an Italian relationship marketing solutions company from a leading Italian banking group.

• Agencies

  Retail Takes Hit, DM Slides Slightly For A&F

  Abercrombie & Fitch generated net sales of $482.5 million for the five-week period ended Jan. 2.

• Agencies

  Direct Holiday Sales Shine For Anthropologie

  Direct to customer sales lead retail revenue for the brands under the Anthropologie umbrella during November and December.

• Agencies

  Twilight Star Poses in SoBe Skinsuits

  “Twilight” vamp Ashley Greene can soon be seen posing in SoBe skinsuits to help the brand launch its newest zero calorie flavors

• Agencies

  Heinz Updates Annual Label Design Contest

  Heinz has had a lot of fun running its contest that calls on grade-school students to design labels for its ketchup packets. But it a new twist, for the first time, a grand-prize winner

• News Briefs

  Delta Air Lines: the official airline of the GRAMMY Awards, has launched a sweepstakes that will send two music fans and a friend to the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards

• Forum Content Creators Also Wield Influence Offline: Survey

  A new user survey finds that people who contribute to online forums– those Web sites where users can post questions and thoughts for response and comment from others

• Timberland to Sponsor Sundance for Second Year; Opens Lounge

  The Timberland Co. is set to embark on its second year as the Official Footwear and Outerwear Sponsor this month at the Sundance Film Festival

• Agencies

  Loyalty Program Providers Maritz And Affinity Team Up

  Point-of-sale loyalty program provider Maritz Real-Time Rewards has teamed up with Affinity Solutions, a relationship marketing program provider. The two firms will jointly offer a point-of-purchase relationship marketing program for US credit and debit card issuers and retailers.