General Merchandise

ODENTON, Md. — M-Edge has launched a new line of protective cases for the latest Apple iPad.

The new cases feature the uView Mounting System, a molded polycarbonate four-corner iPad frame that snaps in via a universal attachment clip that mounts into the jacket in landscape or portrait modes, or can be detached for lower profile protection, without obstructing access to the iPad's camera, ports and buttons.

The new line carries a suggested retail price range of $34.99 to $49.99.

Within the past month, two Ohio-based traditional retailers announced plans to test-market automated retail vending machines. It’s not so much thinking outside of the box as it is figuring out how to get that box to where the consumers are, wherever they are — the airport, the hospital, convention centers, exercise facilities, on a college campus or in a hotel. 


FAIRFIELD, N.J. — Telebrands is bringing the popular Sticky Buddy roller product to retail in early May. The lint and dust remover has had strong direct-to-
consumer sales. In its first two weeks on the JW Greensheet industry report of the top 75 traditional direct response spots, the product climbed to the No. 2 position — a rate that is “extremely rare,” according to Greensheet publisher John Kogler.


MCLEAN, Va. — Consumer packaged goods brands that dedicate a share of their overall marketing resources to the ever-growing Hispanic market prompted about one-third of their overall revenue growth, according to a study from the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.

While the in-store experience is still important to many shoppers, greater consumer adoption of emerging technologies is undoubtedly reshaping the retail landscape. Today, stores are just one part of a larger, more connected consumer experience. For retailers, this means they must rethink how they can transform stores, strategies and operating models into a store of the future: Store 3.0.


Rechargeable batteries represent a growth area for retailers. A report from the Freedonia Group indicated that alkaline batteries remain the most prevalent type of primary battery, accounting for more than 70% of demand. Sales of other battery chemistries, most notably primary lithium, are expected to gain traction in the market through 2015.


As the population ages, sales of hearing-aid batteries and primary lithium batteries for implantable medical devices are expected to soar.

RACINE, Wis. — SC Johnson has teamed up with Cornell University's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise to launch a new product concept.

SUPPLIER NEWS — An iPhone and iPad waterproofing solution that offers antimicrobial product protection has hit the market. Seal Shields are form-fitting polyurethane covers that make iPhones and iPads 100% waterproof, washable and disinfectable, according to the product’s manufacturer. The product, which is completely invisible and preserves the original Apple design, contains an antimicrobial fungistatic agent that protects the product by inhibiting the growth of microbial bacteria, mold, mildew and fungi on the products’ surfaces.