“Not as bitter!” “What’s with the flayed mermaid”? “Smooth …” “What? Free coffee?”

Just a few of the comments overheard this morning in the busy newsroom — journalists are a highly caffeinated bunch, after all — about Starbucks Corp’s new coffee brew called Pike Place Roast, launched today.

Folks, including this reporter, lined up outside Starbucks coffee houses across the country today as barristas passed out free 8-oz (227 gram) samples of the coffee that the global coffee chain hopes will stave off competitors such as McDonalds Corp in the economic downturn.

“The reality is, they have enough brand equity with their consumers they can afford to experiment,” said Matthew Kaufler, a fund manager with Clover Capital. Kaufler, a Starbucks drinker whose professional portfolio does not include the coffee chain, had yet to try the new blend, but said Starbucks stock, given its 40 percent fall since a year ago,  ”is starting to look enticing.”

The new blend, which sells for $9.95 per pound (454 grams) has a smoother flavor and finish, the company says. That appeared to be the general assessment in this newsroom, although some drinkers questioned Starbucks’ new label on the cup. The brown band — formerly green — now features a mermaid whose tail is splayed in two like a butterflied chicken.

“It’s actually a siren,” said a Starbucks spokeswoman. “A siren is a two-tailed mermaid.”

Aha. Indeed.

The two-tailed mermaid harkens back to the company’s roots at the fishermen’s haven of Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the spokeswoman said. The new logo, which looks like the company’s original label, will be seen on cups for a few months, after which the green and white cups — on which a much smaller siren is visible — will reappear.

But, back to the taste.

Thumbs up or down? Bitter or smooth? Is the mermaid — siren, sorry — distracting or enticing?

Please share your thoughts, caffeinated readers, and tell us what you think of Starbucks’ new brew.

 (Photo: Reuters)

Attention men! Victoria’s Secret is toning down its sexy quotient. Let the mourning begin!
    
Sex has been the advertising driver for the lingerie brand in recent years. Its annual televised fashion show features nearly-nude models adorned with satin, sequins and feathers while strutting to Justin Timberlake’s “Put Your Sexy On.”
    
Their stores, meanwhile, evoke the inner sanctum of a very pink boudoir, filled with lace and ruffles on corsets, thongs, panties and bras, with a healthy dose of leopard skin to boot.
    
It’s enough to make you want to check into a convent.  

So the folks at headquarters think it’s time to take a breather. “Increasing the level of sophistication in our product offering” is how Victoria’s Secret Chief Executive Sharen Turney put it in a conference call to analysts this week.

“Ultra feminine” is in, tawdry sexuality out.

After all, Turney explained, the fictional character of Victoria at the center of this brand’s story was “Manor-born. She was from London.”

Oooh, London. Wait, wasn’t that the city that brought us ripped fishnet stockings and safety pins in our ears?

(Photo: Reuters)

Nike, meet Levi. Levi, meet Nike. Nike’s Jordan Brand and Levi Strauss & Co are teaming up with a co-designed collection to hit stores March 1.

Named after Jordan’s best-known Chicago Bulls number and the Levi jeans, 23/501 purports to capture “the harmonious union of these two iconic and innovative brands.”

The limited-edition collection pairs co-branded Air Jordan Retro 1 style sneakers with a pair of Levi’s Original, button-fly 501 jeans and a signature T-shirt. Graphic artwork fuses the “iconic” images that we know and love from both brands.
    
Retailing as a set for $395, the items are displayed in “innovative” packaging, something the companies promise will be a collector’s item.

But if you want to save some money, there’s nothing to stop you from going out and buying a pair of 501s, a pair of Air Jordans, and maybe a T-shirt sans the iconic images … did someone say Fruit of the Loom?

    The obesity crisis in the United States — land of milk, honey and fast food — has now gone global, and one company may stand to benefit.
    
    Weight Watchers International wants to bring its weight-loss services to China’s upwardly-mobile millions, who have embraced bad eating habits, American-style, as their pocketbooks have become increasingly middle-class.
    
    The company recently signed a joint venture deal with French food company Groupe Danone, which brings “extensive knowledge of the China marketplace and the Chinese consumer” according to a recent press release.
    
    Weight Watchers has disclosed few details about its launch into China, and declined an interview request with Reuters, but the joint venture will be 51 percent owned by the weight loss company, and 49 percent owned by Groupe Danone.
    
    A management team is already in place and retail operations are expected to begin within the next year.
    
    But Chief Executive David Kirchhoff, in an earnings call with analysts on Thursday, predicted that Weight Watchers won’t spend more than $5 million on its China plans this year.
    
    Kirchhoff, in the same call, suggested that the move to China was a calling.
    
    “Obesity is becoming a real issue in China and we have an opportunity, and I feel an obligation, to provide lifestyle-based solutions for that market,” Kirchhoff said.
    
    Pressed for details by analysts, Kirchhoff cited concerns about competition — wait..how big is this market again? — but offered a few crumbs.
    
    “I would say the concept we’re focusing on on would most closely resemble the primary business we’re in, which is helping people lose weight, as opposed to having a primary focus on licensed products,” he said.

By Lisa Baertlein 

Is your Starbucks barista getting rusty? Has your grande latte lost its luster?
    
Fret no more.
    
On Feb. 26, Starbucks is closing its nearly 7,100 company-operated U.S. stores from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time to give employees’ java know-how a jolt.
    
“As a result, baristas will be better prepared to share their passion and knowledge with customers. Customers will be able to truly enjoy the art of espresso as Starbucks baristas demonstrate their passion to pull the perfect shot, steam milk to order, and customize their favorite beverage,” recently returned Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a “Transformation Agenda Communication” posted on Starbucks.com this week.
    
Schultz is on a mission to bring back the company’s formerly fast growth as traffic has declined amid a weakening U.S. economy and increasing competition from the likes of burger giant McDonald’s Corp.

At the annual ICRXchange for consumer companies held in the beach town of Dana Point, California it’s always jarring to see buttoned-down big city analysts and fund managers look like fish out of water while schmoozing with laid-back apparel company heads in the bright sun.

But even more comical was the sight of an animated, energetic Dov Charney, chief executive and founder of trendy retailer and clothing maker American Apparel, giving an evolutionary lesson to suits and proclaiming himself to be a “monkey.”

The dinosaurs in his business, he explained to the rapt crowd assembled around him, are Hanesbrands and Fruit of the Loom, suggesting that his underwear designs are far more hip.

“I’m a monkey — and the rats are behind me,” he said, referring to those who copy his designs.

His comments prompted one fund manager to label Charney “a character,” something the controversial CEO — whose leadership at American Apparel has been marked by accusations of sexual misconduct — may well have heard before.

Also overheard at the two-day conference, Quiksilver President Bernard Mariette being asked if the company was contemplating acquisitions — this one day after the action sports apparel maker announced a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss due to its unwieldy Rossignol division, which it bought in 2005.

“You got any money?” Mariette asked to laughter all around.

Lastly, it feels like war at the ICRXchange. The requisite swag this year is an oversized camouflage backpack, which makes the attendees look like they’re shipping off for a deployment.

But maybe the battle analogy is not too far off, given the current state of retail in the United States.

(Photo: Reuters)

U.S. retail spending may be in a ho-hum mode, but Victoria’s Secret executives believe the holidays can be bright with sales of pajamas, impulse gifts — and a little boost from the supermodels and Spice Girls.
    
That, at least, was the message from the lingerie chain’s executives, who spoke with Reuters before Limited Brands’ recent Victoria’s Secret fashion show in Hollywood. The show, taped mid-November, will be broadcast Tuesday night on CBS.
 
“We are so very prepared for holiday. We are still optimistic,” said Sharen Turney, CEO of Victoria’s Secret, which has been hurt by low store traffic in recent months. “There’s a lot of newness that’s coming in,” Turney added.
    
Same-store sales, which measure sales at stores open at least a year, were down 6 and 7 percent in September and October, respectively, at the chain.
 
“We treat this time of year like an all-out assault, and we look at business results on a daily basis, by region, district, store,” said Ed Razek, Limited Brands’ chief marketing officer. 

Boosting publicity is the much-hyped fashion show, known for supermodels in elaborate get-ups featuring Victoria’s Secret lingerie embellished with rhinestones, feathers, beads and angels’ wings. The event costs the company $10 million but Turney said it reaps publicity “well worth over $100 million.”
 
British pop band the Spice Girls, who performed at the show, are also expected to help draw store traffic since their latest CD is presently only sold at the retailer.
    
Executives say categories of strength this year are expected to be pajamas, hoodies from the chain’s more casual Pink line, gift ideas such as panties packaged as lollipops, beauty products and Victoria’s Secret newly-launched fragrance.

But analysts foresee widespread discounting this December, as a host of competitors woo what many fear is an apathetic consumer. 
 
Razek would not share specific details, but acknowledged contingency plans for sales are “in the hopper.”
    
“Particularly this Christmas, you’ll have to offer (shoppers) value,” Razek said. “We are looking at what areas of the business we’ll need sharper price points on.”

So maybe you missed the doorbuster promotions, your family already has a Wii, or the emphasis on the material just doesn’t make your heart go pitter-pat. What then, come the holidays?
    
As the gift-giving days loom ever closer, a slew of organizations are touting non-traditional gifts, from adopting a lemur to jumping out of an airplane.
    
According to gift-giving company Excitations, 41 percent of consumers don’t even remember that amazing holiday gift you gave them last year. But maybe funding a Mexico City soccer league, cataract surgery in Ghana, or helping conservation efforts in Angola might not be so easily forgotten.
 
At the World Wildlife Fund, you can adopt a proboscis monkey, red-footed booby or Galapagos Island tortoise (and get a cute furry stuffed-animal equivalent). At Utah’s Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, you’ll be sure to find a wet-nosed dog, cat, bunny or even goat who needs to be sponsored (our personal feline favorites are the rotund Buddy Boy and the fanged Scooter). 
    
At http://www.changingthepresent.org, gift-givers can choose their favorite cause, from human rights to disaster relief and landmines. Choices include giving money to fund a cellphone for an African farmer, funding brain cancer research, paying for a child’s cleft palate surgery or helping homeless American veterans. 
    
Looking for something more hedonistic? Http://www.excitations.com offers the opportunity to drive a Formula 2000 race car, attend the NFL Player of the Year dinner, take a falconry excursion, or master the art of mixing through a cocktail master class for two.

Gift cards even exist in the realm of charity. At http://www.charitygiftcertificates.org gift recipients can choose their favorite charity in spending their gift from you. 

Happy Shopping! (and don’t forget the lemurs)

Photo from World Wildlife Fund Web Site. 

Women are from Nordstrom, men are from Sears. That’s according to a new study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School that found different priorities for men and women when it comes to shopping.
    
As this female reporter and avid shopper knows well, women are “happy to meander through sprawling clothing and accessory collections or detour through the shoe department,” according to the survey.
    
Men, on the other hand, are not as fun: “Men want to go to Sears, buy a specific tool and get out,” said Robert Price, a member of the advisory board of Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retail Initiative.
    
The study, in conjunction with Toronto consulting firm the Verde Group, found that men’s interest in shopping has atrophied after years of being taken care of by women. And they seem to be annoyed more by parking. The top problem that rankled men, according to the survey, is “difficulty in finding parking close to the store’s entrance.”
    
Women, on the other hand, who represent 83 percent of U.S. consumer spending, are put off when they can’t find help in stores when needed, and value personal interaction with store employees more than men. And if staff make women shoppers feel important, so much the better, the survey found.
    
But ultimately, shopping strategies for men and women harken back to the cave.
    
“Women are gatherers. Men are hunters,” said Delia Passi of WomenCertified, a retail training organization that also worked on the study. “Women walk into a store and scan. Men look for a specific aisle.”

Toy retailers got a cheerleader in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt on Tuesday, who cited the vast majority of safe goods imported into the country while touting an import safety plan presented earlier this month to President George W. Bush.
    
After buying a Tickle Me Elmo, a Wii and other toys for his grandchildren at a Los Angeles-area Toys ‘R’ Us, Leavitt told reporters that independent certification was needed in order to insure safety before goods, whether toys or food, were imported.
    
“We have a fundamentally sound system, but it’s being tested by the quantity of things coming across our borders,” said the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency. 
   
Other recommendations of the “Action Plan for Import Safety” include increased transparency, strengthening penalties against violators and training foreign inspection agencies.
    
But Leavitt suggested that retailers themselves have the most to gain by being diligent about their supply chain.
    
“They are saying to their suppliers, unless the (toys) are safe … we don’t want them on our shelves,” Leavitt said.  “The market will punish rapidly and severely anyone who puts products that are unsafe on the shelf.”
    
But some legislation will be necessary, he said, such as a law that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to pursue mandatory food recalls.
    
Lawmakers have proposed legislation that would virtually ban lead in toys and would give the Consumer Product Safety Commission more muscle to enforce its standards.

Mattel Inc, the world’s largest toy company, has recalled about 21 million toys this year because of lead paint and hazards posed by small magnets.