When Wal-Mart noticed its AC/DC  t-shirts were among some of its best-selling, the world’s biggest retailer realized some type of partnership with the rock band might make sense.

Now, as AC/DC prepares for the Oct 20 launch of its latest album, that partnership is coming to life — it goes far beyond shirts.

Wal-Mart, which was chosen by the band to exclusively sell the “Black Ice” album in its stores in the U.S., is setting up ”Rock Again AC/DC Stores” inside all of its 3,500 Walmart locations. They will be stocked with the new album, AC/DC clothes, DVDs, the band’s earlier albums, games, and an area to try out the new AC/DC Rock Band video game.

Wal-Mart is also making its presence known in Manhattan, an island currently Wal-Mart free. On Friday, it parked its ”Black Ice” truck in Times Square and set up  a stage so passers-by could try out the new AC/DC Rock Band video game.

Melissa O’Brien, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the band appeals to everyone from 50-year-olds to 15-year-olds, and the retailer was watching to see if the AC/DC push would attract new shoppers to its stores.

At Times Square, 39-year-old Bill Voccia said he was ”definitely one of the band’s biggest fans.” A member of an AC/DC tribute band, he could not wait to get his hands on the new album. Voccia said he prefers to buy CDs rather than get his music online – a good thing considering AC/DC is among a handful of musicians who refuse to put their music on iTunes.

Juan Delaluz could also be described as a big fan. The 13-year-old was dressed in an AC/DC hat, an AC/DC t-shirt and AC/DC pin. Delaluz, who informed his teachers he would miss school on Friday because of the Time Square event, said he was one of the only ones among his friends who still buy CDs — everyone else listens to music on their iPods.

But not everyone in the crowd was an AC/DC fan or quite sure what the event in Times Square was all about.

When this reporter asked one teenager if she was a fan of AC/DC, she responded with a puzzled look.

“I don’ t know who they are,” she said.

She was more interested in watching her friends play Rock Band–not realizing the songs on the video game were all AC/DC songs.

(Photo: A picture of Voccia playing Rock Band in Manhattan. Provided by Wal-Mart)

Wal-Mart is joining the Manhattan pop-up brigade.
 
Starting this week in New York City, the retailer will put up a temporary store in Times Square and have a truck roving around the city to celebrate the launch of AC/DC’s new album. 
 
The rock band has chosen to exclusively sell its latest album, Black Ice, through the discount retailer in the United States, and Wal-Mart will also exclusively sell the AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack video game.
 
This week, AC/DC fans — and curious onlookers — can visit the Black Ice truck to listen to the AC/DC album in advance of its release on Oct 20.
 
On Saturday night, at the Times Square MTV store, Wal-Mart and MTV will unveil the “AC/DC Rock Band store” and sell the first copies of the new album.
 
Wal-Mart joins a long list of retailers who have stormed the Big Apple,  setting up pop-up stores on an island where they have no permanent location.
 
Last month, Target set up temporary “bodegas” in Manhattan to show off its line of designer merchandise.

 (Reuters photo)

The big white tent that houses New York City’s Fashion Week was joined by another, smaller tent on Wednesday. Set up behind the main event, in a corner of Bryant Park, Sears erected what it calls a “lifestyle exhibit.” Also housed under a white tent, the meandering exhibit was meant to showcase Sears’  brands – well-established names such as Kenmore appliances and more recent products like a new clothing line by rapper LL Cool J.

The tent was divided into rooms with themes like “Alpha Dog” that featured a DieHard motorcycle, and “Boho Grunge,” that had mannequins playing Rock Band.

Sears is certainly not the first retailer to try to raise its chic quotient by hosting an event in coordination with New York’s Fashion Week. In a memorable attempt to wow the masses, Wal-Mart held a fashion show in a Times Square studio during Fashion Week in 2005 to showcase its apparel. The location was chosen to make the show accessible to the public.

But low-priced retailers and Fashion Week have not always mixed well. In early 2007, Wal-Mart ended its Fashion Week participation after its shoppers proved more interested in basic, affordable clothes than trendy fashions like skinny jeans.

Sears said its tent was meant to wow the masses. But around 1 pm the tent was largely empty, except for a small crowd that had gathered to snap pictures with Dr 90210’s Robert Rey, who sells Shapewear at Sears. There was little signage on the tent explaining what was inside, leaving many in Bryant Park to walk straight by the exhibit.

Once inside, there were few mentions of Sears and nothing to explain to the visitor that all of the items on display were available for purchase at the retailer. Instead, the flyer being handed out to passers-by touted the appearances of Dr Robert Rey and LL Cool J.

Sears spokeswoman Amy Dimond said downplaying Sears’ brand was intentional. She said the tent was meant to “show the lifestyle that’s achievable at Sears” and was aimed at getting shoppers to “think about us in a different way.” Traffic in the tent had been “really good,” she said, and she expected a crowd at 5pm, when LL Cool J would arrive to sign autographs.

No matter how Sears ultimately judges the tent’s success, it did make one visitor extremely happy. Louisa Robbins, who lives in Yardville, NJ, said she was in Manhattan to visit her dentist and happened by the tent after her appointment. Clutching an autographed picture of Dr Rey, the 49-year-old mother of two said she was thrilled to get to take her picture with the plastic surgeon.

“Who knows,” she said, with a big grin on her face. “I may even get an operation myself.”

(Photo: Reuters)