General Merchandise

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Reckitt Benckiser has launched a collection of online mini games to boost brand awareness.

NEW YORK — Glad wants consumers to waste less by making its tall kitchen trash bags more green.

Glad said that its tall kitchen bags are stronger and use less plastic, and will carry the claims on its packaging. The brand's Glad tall kitchen bags and Glad OdorShield Fresh Scents tall kitchen drawstring bags utilize 6.5% less plastic, the company said. What's more, Glad also touts a 65% recycled kitchen bag, made from 65% recycled plastic, as well as compostable bags that are made with approximately 40% vegetable-based materials so they disintegrate at compost facilities.

WAYNE, Pa. — Emerson Group on Wednesday named Shane Brown to the group's Walmart team.

Brown comes to Emerson from Bayer HealthCare where he held a variety of roles in sales and category management for Bayer’s over-the-counter businesses working with the Walmart account. His primary responsibility was working as category captain to Walmart on the cough, cold and allergy category. Brown utilized his knowledge of the cough, cold and allergy category in working with Bayer internal brand teams to develop and launch new items, as well as setting brand strategies.

NEW YORK — FyrFlyz could be the next big kid craze. The new spinning toy on a string from i-Star Entertainment has earned a spot on a number of “Hot Toy” lists, including the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio and Dr. Toy Top Ten Toys lists.


With multicolored LED lights that create unique light patterns when the toy is spun, FyrFlyz puts a new twist on the classic children’s spinning toy. Priced at $8.99 and aimed at kids 8 years and older, the toy is poised to be a holiday hit.


ST. LOUIS — A cat food brand has partnered with a company that develops music specifically for pets.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Summer Infant has named David Hemendinger as its new COO.

In his new role, Hemendinger will be responsible for assuring that the company's operational infrastructure in its information systems and supply chain effectively and efficiently supports the company's business and growth initiatives, Summer Infant said. He replaces Summer Infant COO Jeffery Hale.

Industry experts say growth in the photo department will come from personalized products. “The photo category of the future is in user-generated content,” said Steve Giordano Jr., president of Lucidiom. “Customers should be able to go into a drug store and purchase personalized invitations, banners and thank you notes for a party.”

Retailers, Giordano said, have to go deep in the category to be competitive. That means offering everything from invitations and sticky notes to photobooks.

LOS ANGELES — 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is bringing its film on the epic battle between man and ape home this December.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" will be available Blu-ray, DVD and digital download. Starring James Franco, the film tells a story of a neuroscientist whose experiment on primates goes awry when the latter's intelligence continues to grow.

The "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Blu-ray includes such bonus material as deleted scenes, making-of featurettes commentaries and more. The film will make its debut on Dec. 13.