Fast-food chain Ajisen (China) recently announced its entry into the high-end restaurant market by opening the first restaurant named Wakayama in the International Finance Center (IFC) of Hong Kong.

Easyhome, the Chinese decoration and construction material company based in Beijing, is continuously expanding by opening stores throughout China. The special feature of the company is their “one-stop” service, which includes decoration design and materials, and construction materials and furniture. These products are all offered in large-scale shopping centers, branded retail stores, or supermarkets. The main target market is the Chinese middle-class.

The Walt Disney Co. announced on August 31st that they will acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc., bringing 5,000 characters including Spider-Man and Iron Man into the Disney family. This move comes as Disney is losing its brand esteem with boys. It also lacks an internationally recognizable icon, as Mickey Mouse used to be.

The Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) recently announced a partnership with the fashion retailer Claire's to promote an upcoming series of video games to be launched this October. “CHARM GIRLS CLUB, My Fashion Mall” is the name of this new series, and it will include four different games, targeted at young girls aged 8 to 12. The launch of the new series of video games will also be supported by a website.

As is the case for cell phones, personal laptops are no longer exclusively used by adults. Children now would like to use and even have their own personal computers. Knowing this, Disney and Asus have collaborated to create Disney Netpal, a co-branded netbook computer designed for children aged 6 to 12. The target market- “little customers and their parents”. 

P&G recently announced it has acquired another prestigious male grooming brand called Zirh. (P&G also acquired “The Art of Shaving” brand earlier in June).

In the digital age of information overload, brands may find that their target markets are becoming more and more difficult to reach with traditional advertising and communications methods. A recent trend is for companies to utilize online and social media to increase brand awareness (Please see previous news on Sunkist, Unilever, and Twitter). But marketers from Sunsilk have found a unique human channel to promote their products— flight attendants.