Speed Demon
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola will be title sponsor for SpeedMall, an online shopping mall owned by Action Performance Companies, Inc.
Coke will sponsor SpeedMall’s virtual theater, where visitors can view multimedia news announcements and a variety of entertainment events such as race footage and broadcasts of interviews from more than 30 American and international race series. The Coca-Cola racing logos will be prominently displayed at key locations throughout the mall.
“Action is positioned to emerge as the premier source for innovative marketing, promotion, product sales, and distribution strategies across all motor s ports categories,” says ceo Fred Wagenhals.
“Action’s SpeedMall provides a unique forum for combining product sales, strategic marketing, and expanding Coca-Cola’s extensive commitment to motor sports,” says Steve Koonin, Coke’s vp-marketing asset management.
Action Performance Companies, Inc., Phoenix, designs, markets, and distributes licensed motor sports merchandise including die-cast car replica collectibles, souvenirs, and other memorabilia.
NetGrocer of New Brunswick, NJ, debuted a new three-in-one online supercenter, a Web site designed to increase customer use, drive sales, and more effectively implement promotions, company officials said.
Site improvements include easier navigation, “shop fast” lists, “solution buying,” and electronic coupons. A new directory organizes more than 6,000 products and gives NetGrocer’s merchandisers the ability to designate “end-aisle and top-shelf displays” for specially priced products.
Solution buying, an exclusive NetGrocer feature, allows the customer to pick a topic and quickly view a page containing every related product. For example, the New Baby page serves up such items as diapers, bottles, formula, and over-the-counter medications.
“NetGrocer has implemented these changes to give time-starved customers more value and greater convenience while creating a more cost-effective business model,” says ceo Fred Horowitz.
A new management team has been responsible for the upgraded systems and technology of the site, according to Horowitz.
End-aisle and top-shelf displays play a “critical role” in executing promotions, and ultimately lead to premiums from manufacturers in the form of price reductions passed on to the customer, Horowitz says.
The new site comes with three stores in one: a grocery store, a drug store, and a “gifts and everything else store,” says Horowitz. Consumers can stock up on their non-perishables while satisfying their drug store needs and picking up books and CDs without having to visit other Web sites, he says.
