Tesco will be challenging the likes of Gap and Next when it launches Cherokee in 300 of its largest stores in the autumn. Expect cheap T-shirts and very Landsend-looking clothes. If you see yourself eating as well as dressing Tesco, check out Target.com to find out what Dotty has in store for you.
If you're wondering, Cherokee of course has nothing to do with the Native American Cherokee Nation, which was the first thing to be thrown up on our Google search. Nope, Cherokee is just another faceless Inc, which like DaimlerChrysler and its Jeep, is just hawking the Cherokee name. Some things never change.
Hardly a week seems to go by without a new Ministry of Sound dance collection CD release. So if you've been buying these up and have yet to find anything to play them on, Ministry can now solve your problems. Ministry has signed a deal with consumer electronics firm Alba to develop and market a range of "audio products comprising major, mini-portable and personal CD and DVD players".
Apparently, according to the press release, the MoS-branded range "complements Alba's existing audio products and broadens the group's offering in the growing youth market". The first person to shout shameless brand extension wins the prize for stating the obvious.
The Post Office has done it. The National Lottery has done it. And now the EU could be joining in. It's the rebranding bandwagon, as according to reports the EU is preparing to jump onboard with a new bar-code style flag.
The original flag, adopted in 1986 and featuring 12 gold stars on a blue background, could prove difficult to adapt if the number of member states increases to 25, as is predicted. Obviously they never saw the American flag, which cannily managed to get 50 stars on the Stars and Stripes.
The new proposed EU flag will feature the colours of the flags of all the member nations arranged in stripes, appearing in the order that member nations are located, from west to east. However, it was later revealed that the new design was not actually commissioned by the EU. "All the ideas put forward at our meeting have been welcomed with interest, but we did not commission a design for a new flag and there is no intention of replacing the current one," the EU said. Oh.
The cola wars are starting up again, with Pepsi firing the latest shot in an attempt to revive the flagging soda market. Its weapon -- Pepsi Blue, a berry cola fusion drink that is, as you might expect, bright blue in colour. Expect ads with grungy youths sticking their tongues out while skateboarding and listening to, ahem, "nu-metal".
Pepsi said its market research showed the drink, due out in the US in August, would be a sure-fire hit with its target market of teenagers. Or as one Pepsi spokesman put it: "We talked to thousands of teens about creating a cola fusion and they told us two things: 'Make it berry and make it blue'." Would you believe everything sullen teenagers tell you?
Film wars, or should that be merchandising wars? Just look at the massive success of 'Spider-Man' at the US box office -- it has become the biggest box-office opener of all time, as well as the film with the highest number of continuity errors, according to film buffs. But just wait until next week for even bigger box-office takings when 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones' opens. It's rumoured that the only reason the much-hated Jar Jar Binks character from 'Phantom Menace' is back is as part of an effort to sell millions of unsold Jar Jar dolls. Well, as the annoying blue one might say: "If me be returnin, the bosses will do terrible things to me! Tewwwwible things!"
Supermarket news this week -- firstly Morrison, the northern supermarket chain, announced that off-the-shelf car retailing will be available to its customers soon, and promised savings of more than £3,000 on the latest models. The chain entered into a deal with Lookers, a motor dealership, to be the first supermarket to offer cars. Over at Asda, it was reported that Wal-Mart introducing its branding on to Asda carrier bags, delivery vans and till receipts. It will also introduce the "always low prices" slogan used by Wal-Mart. Welcome to Arkansas.
Pringle, the staid golf knitwear maker, is taking an interesting approach to flogging its wares. Golfer Nick Faldo has been dispensed of as its poster boy, replaced by a naked model. They certainly took their time in working that one out.
Why? Well, it's nothing to do with the chance to show a nipple in the Daily Mail. Apparently, the naked model -- well, naked except for a long strand of pearls -- is waiting for her new twinset. She will appear on a hoarding outside the site of Pringle's new flagship store, due to open in September, along with the words: "Twinset time -- September 2002".
You've got the kit, you've got the ketchup, now -- if you're lucky enough to live in Singapore or Beijing -- you can drink the Beckacino, as Manchester United announced plans to launch a chain of branded cafes in Asia. Described as "casual family-style dining" in style, the 90-strong chain will tap into a market of an estimated 30m Man Utd fans in the region.
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