General Merchandise

SPOKANE, Wash. — Zak Designs on Tuesday announced the latest product license for its line of dinnerware for kids.

Zak is releasing two lines of mealtime products featuring characters from two Disney Junior animated shows: "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" and "Doc McStuffins."

DALLAS — Starting today, April 17, Kleenex brand, the only facial tissue with Sneeze Shield in all of its tissues, according to the company, is giving three schools a chance to win 250,000 eBoxTops for the 2013-2014 school year through the Kleenex brand in the Classroom sweepstakes.

LAS VEGAS — No longer will the SymphonyIRI Group crunch data for the betterment of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies everywhere, the company's president and CEO Andrew Appel told a packed conference room at the data aggregator's 2013 Summit here.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has lowered its earnings expectations for first quarter 2013, the mass merchandise retailer said Tuesday.

The Minneapolis-based chain said it expected same-store sales growth in the quarter to be about flat over first quarter 2012 due to sales trends that have been weaker than expected, particularly in seasonal and weather-sensitive merchandise categories. As a result, earnings-per-share guidance is expected to be less than $1.10; the company's original guidance had stated earnings would be $1.10-$1.20 per share.

NEW YORK — A majority of surveyed adults in the United States regards organic as an excuse to charge more for food, according to a new study.

The March Harris Poll of 2,276 adults found that those expressing concern for the environment grew from 31% last year to 38% this year, but 59% of respondents saw labeling foods and other products as organic was an excuse to charge more.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Competitive Promotion Report on Monday introduced a new advanced big data analytics tool, Integrated Data Management, that provides insights which syndicated sales data alone cannot.

“IDM will give our clients a competitive advantage with a view of how marketing tactics are impacting sales and profits so they can adjust accordingly," stated Glen Davis, CPR president and CEO. "This knowledge can give manufacturers an edge and solves the widespread challenge of making sense of some of the big data they are amassing.”

SHELTON, CT. — Bic Consumer Products, a distributor of stationary products, lighters and shavers, announced today a new highlighter tape, the first to hit the market, according to the company.

Bic Brite Liner Highlighter Tape is a bright fluorescent tape that can be used to highlight documents without bleeding through paper. It also erases easily, making it convenient to use on textbooks, magazines, newspapers and other important documents.

TROY, Mich. — Five regional retailers — including mass-merchandisers Meijer and Fred Meyer — are selling a mobile point-of-sale credit card processing system compatible with most smartphones and tablets in their stores.