Single-Color M&M’s Students with a sweet tooth for

something “chocolatey” that features their favorite color may look no further

than the snack section of their college bookstore.

In an effort to expand usage and reach of the M&M’s brand, The Pro-

motion In Motion Companies, Inc. and Mars Snackfood U.S. have formed a partnership grant-ing Promotion In Motion the exclusive sales and marketing license for single-color M&M’s Brand Chocolate Candies.

Under the new venture, The Promotion In Motion Companies produces and markets the “My M&M’s” line of 21 colors in selected trade channels nationwide, with a focus on specialty retailers and locations, including college book-stores.

“We are delighted to partner with Mars to help extend the consumer reach of one of the most loved candy brands in the world,” said Promo-tion In Motion Companies President and Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) Michael G. Rosenberg. “The single-color range offers a unique oppor-tunity to generate incremental sales by allowing consumers to mix and

match colors to help make everyday occasions more fun, or be the fi nishing touch to special occasions throughout the year.”

The initial range includes single-color M&M’s in 7-ounce bags.Promotion In Motion is one of North America’s premier mak-

ers of confections, fruit snacks and other snack-food products. The company’s proprietary and licensed brands include Welch’s Fruit Snacks and Fruit ‘N Yogurt Snacks, Juicefuls Juice-Filled Fruit Snacks, Sun-Maid Milk Chocolate Raisins, Fisher Milk Chocolate Peanuts, Tuxedos Milk Chocolate Almonds, Sour Jacks Sour Candies, Nuclear Sqworms Sour Neon Gummi Worms, Buddy Bears Gummi Bears, Toggi Fine European Chocolate Wafers, Bake Shoppe Cookie Dough Miniatures and more.

A Lot More Variety Since its acquisi-

tion by M.J. Soffe a year ago, the Cotton

Exchange has seen an increase in the assort-ment of apparel available to college stores.

“We now have something for everyone in our line,” said Virginia Owen, marketing coordinator, The Cotton Exchange/Soffe Bookstore Division. “The Cotton Exchange has always been about basics, with very little focus on fashion.

“Now, Soffe brings great fash-ion silhouettes, great color selec-tion and lots of different fabric categories. With everything that we did not have in the Cotton Exchange line, Soffe has brought all of the latest looks to the mix, plus great basics.”

Soffe products, under the Cotton Exchange umbrella, will be hitting full force in stores for the fall semester.

Soffe’s juniors’ line, which is one of the company’s more popular lines, has “added a whole lot of excitement to our offerings of basics,” she noted. In addition to juniors, Soffe features men’s, women’s and kids’ apparel, including T-shirts, shorts and fl eece wear.

“It has really added a lot of variety,” Owen said. The authentic Soffe shorts are one of the prominent apparel items

in the juniors’ line. They come in approximately 15 colors, along with a few novelty patterns, with more colors to be added in spring 2012.

Owen explained that the authentic Soffe shorts were originally called cheer shorts because of their popularity in the cheerleading industry. Sizes range from XS-XL.

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Students with a sweet tooth for Students with a sweet tooth for Students with a sweet tooth for something “chocolatey” that features

their favorite color may look no further than the snack section of their college

In an effort to expand usage and reach of the M&M’s brand, The Pro-

motion In Motion Companies, Inc. and Mars Snackfood U.S. have formed a partnership grant-ing Promotion In Motion the exclusive sales and marketing license for single-color M&M’s Brand

Under the new venture, The Promotion In Motion Companies produces and markets the “My M&M’s” line of 21 colors in selected trade channels nationwide, with a focus on specialty retailers and locations, including college book-

“We are delighted to partner with Mars to help extend the consumer reach of one of the most loved candy brands in the world,” said Promo-tion In Motion Companies President and Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) Michael G. Rosenberg.

Making Last-Minute

PHOTO COURTESY OF PROMOTION IN M

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Summer continues to sizzle, which means that college bookstore directors/buyers are frantically making pur-chasing decisions to ensure that their stores are well

stocked when students come back to school in a matter of weeks.

With advance planning now in the “last-minute” stage, managers are checking each area of their store, whether on the sales fl oor or in the stockroom. If there is space on the fl oor for more merchandise, and not enough inventory on hand to fi ll that space, directors/buyers are placing those fi nal orders to make sure that all students who walk into the store during fall rush fi nd exactly what they need.

As students get ready to return to their dorms/housing units, College Store Executive asked a few vendors to discuss some of the last-minute items to consider when making fi nal preparations for fall rush.

JULY/AUGUST 2011 • COLLEGE STORE EXECUTIVE

Other Soffe shorts to be featured in college stores this fall include mesh shorts, poly microfi ber shorts and a Soffe slick made of 100 percent nylon woven fabric that comes in 17 colors and is available in S-XL.

FABRIC OFFERINGS Owen noted that Soffe has

added many fabric catego-ries to the product mix since last year’s acquisition of the Cotton Exchange. “The Cot-ton Exchange is known for its basics, including jerseys and fl eece wear. We’ve gotten great fabric offerings in juniors’ sil-houettes now.”

The new offerings include tri-blend fabrics in juniors’ tees, including tissue tees, burnout tees, long- and short-sleeve tees in v-neck and round neck, and sport silhouette tees.

In the men’s category, two of the top-selling apparel items are Soffe’s long- and short-sleeve basic tees. “They’re selling great,” Owen said. The short-sleeve tees are available in 21 colors with sizes rang-ing from S-2X, and the long-sleeve tees come in more than 10 colors and are available in S-2X.

Soffe also added men’s tri-blend tees to the product mix. They are available in six colors — black, oxford, navy, red, royal and cardinal — and come in sizes S-2X.

MADE BY U.S.The Cotton Exchange has launched a branding campaign, Made

by U.S., for apparel manufactured in North Carolina and sold in college stores around the country.

The Made by U.S. line features tees, shorts and fl eece wear for men, ladies, youth, infants and toddlers — or what Owen refers to as the “Family Tree.” Men’s sizes in most of the Made by U.S. line range from S-2X, with some styles up to 3X, and the CCO251 men’s basic tee up to 5X in navy and white. Ladies’ sizes range from XS-XL; youth from XS-XL; and infant sizes of six, 12, 18 and 24 months.

“The branding campaign lets students know that when they buy USA-made products, it helps secure their futures by keeping jobs in the U.S., so that when they’re out job searching, there are more jobs available in the U.S.,” Owen explained.

She added that the idea of purchasing U.S.-made products strength-ens the economy by bringing revenue to local communities and the families that have built these communities.

In regard to marketing the Made by U.S. line, Owen said there is a scheduled plan to introduce the branding initiative to college stores, with a big push planned in the near future. “Reps are bring-ing information about the campaign to the buyers,” she noted. “The Made by U.S. logo is already on hangtags of Cotton Exchange apparel in college stores.”

More Than a Sideline Provider College bookstore buyers looking to add last-minute

merchandise to their back-to-school assortment could turn to adidas for their apparel needs.

Danny Rosenberg, marketing manager, adidas Sports

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COTTON EXCHANGE

Licensing Division, said that adidas does a signifi cant amount of busi-ness during the fall based on the chase model of last-minute buying.

“Half of our business is upfront booking, and the other half is business that is chased throughout the year, particularly in the fall,” he explained. “After football season kicks off and back to school gets up and running, product sells through. We really come in and have the capabilities to customize products based on the retailers’ needs.”

Touching on the major product categories for the college market, Rosenberg noted key styles in adi-das’ headwear and apparel lines as the top sellers in college stores.

The apparel line includes basic tees, fl eece wear, sweatpants and shorts. On the lifestyle side, adidas Originals is the company’s lifestyle brand, featuring more fashion-for-ward, contemporary styles that are trending in the marketplace right now.

Rosenberg noted that sales for adidas Originals in the college mar-ket have doubled over the last six months (January-July). “There is a lot of opportunity for retailers that need last-minute items to replace products and fi ll holes that they have on the fl oor, and our Originals line allows them to do that, while rounding out the product assort-ment they have.”

LAST-MINUTE PURCHASING ITEMS On the lifestyle side, the adidas Originals line offers tri-blend men’s

and women’s tees in a number of different styles. This includes regular tri-blend T-shirts, tri-blend tank tops for women and tri-blend raglans (3/4 sleeves) for men.

Another option for buyers seeking last-minute purchases is the adidas Originals track jacket, which Rosenberg calls “the true DNA of adidas. It is probably the most recognizable piece that the brand does, both licensed and branded. That has really taken off and caught fi re.”

For headwear, the adidas snapback cap has emerged as a popular choice among college students. “It’s the hottest trend for the college consumer right now,” Rosenberg said. “Retailers have told us that our snapback hat offers the right fi t, the right mold and the right shape that students are looking for.”

Snapback caps are avail-able to stores at 72-piece minimums.

Other last-minute pur-chasing options for book-store buyers are the college basics that adidas offers. Rosenberg explained that the staple core items available for college stores include: the 10-12-ounce fleece: long- and short-sleeve tee shirts; and bottoms, includ-ing open-bottom sweatpants and multiple styles of shorts.

All adidas apparel items

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADIDASPHOTO COURTESY OF ADIDAS

COLLEGE STORE EXECUTIVE • JULY/AUGUST 2011

tims and survivors of breast cancer and have helped them to fi ght the disease with both strength and courage.

With every purchase, the ta-tas Brand has donated nearly 50 percent of its profi ts to the cause over the last six years and to date, has donated more than $660,000 to fund the fi ght against cancer, including innovative cancer research.

This fall, the ta-tas Brand launches a new collection of flirty v-necks and new PJ pants to ac-

company a new short-sleeve collection. The fall collection includes short- and long-sleeve tees that incorporate floral and abstract designs for the women’s line.

Savethetatas.com will also offer a new vintage men’s col-lection with designs featur-ing slogans like “New Orleans Chicken & Waffles, The Spiciest Breasts in Town.” These new designs will accompany the “Save the ta-tas” logo collec-tion that continues to be an on-campus favorite.

The Save the ta-tas Foundation recently an-nounced its second an-nual scholarship program. From now until Sept. 2,

2011, college students who are currently battling or who have battled cancer can write an essay or submit a video describing

their inspirational story about their journey battling cancer and how they intend to use their experience to help others. The Save the ta-tas Foundation will award its scholarship winners in October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For more information, visit www.savethetatas.org. —CSE

are available in 24-piece minimums with sizes ranging from S-XXL. A full color palette is available for all apparel and headwear, Rosenberg said.

EVERYDAY COLLEGE VENDOR Overall, adidas’ business increased 30 percent in the college market

from 2010-11. As adidas continues to expand its retail footprint in col-lege stores, the company is looking to establish itself as more than just a sideline provider that only handles athletic contracts.

“In addition to being a sideline provider, we are an everyday college vendor dedicated to the college business and providing styles, quick turns, minimums and assortments that bookstores need,” Rosenberg explained. “We carry more than $100 million in inventory to ensure retailers can get products turned around quickly.”

For more information on adidas apparel, contact Rosenberg at daniel.rosenberg@adidas.com.

Pink is the New BlackThis fall, pink is the new black. You may have heard the phrase and have probably

seen a student wearing a Save the ta-tas shirt. But this little phrase is the backbone of an international company that boasts an extensive clothing and accessory line, three independent cancer researchers, a college scholarship program, thousands of independent retailers, 260,000 Facebook fans and

more than $660,000 donated to fi ght the war against cancer. The ta-tas Brand and Save the ta-tas Foundation were created by

fashion designer Julia Fikse as a way to fi ght breast cancer using laughter and fun. Formerly a designer for Jessica McClintock, Levi and adidas, Fikse started Save the ta-tas as the ideal combination of fashion design and supporting a cause. This playful line of T-shirts and accessories includes messages such as “Caught you lookin’ at my ta-tas” and “Green saves trees, pink saves these.”

These messages of hope and humor have reached thousands of vic-

of flirty v-necks and new PJ pants to ac-company a new short-sleeve collection.

The fall collection includes short- and long-sleeve tees that incorporate floral and abstract designs for the women’s line.

Savethetatas.com will also offer a new vintage men’s col-lection with designs featur-ing slogans like “New Orleans Chicken & Waffles, The Spiciest Breasts in Town.” These new designs will accompany the “Save the ta-tas” logo collec-tion that continues to be an on-campus favorite.

2011, college students who are currently battling or who have battled cancer can write an essay or submit a video describing

“In addition to being a sideline provider, we are an everyday college vendor dedicated to the college business and providing styles, quick turns, minimums and assortments that bookstores need,” Rosenberg explained. “We carry more than $100 million in inventory to ensure

For more information on adidas apparel, contact Rosenberg at

little phrase is the backbone of an international company that boasts an extensive clothing and accessory line, three independent cancer researchers, a college scholarship program, thousands of independent retailers, 260,000 Facebook fans and

more than $660,000 donated to fi ght the war against cancer. The ta-tas Brand and Save the ta-tas Foundation were created by

fashion designer Julia Fikse as a way to fi ght breast cancer using laughter and fun. Formerly a designer for Jessica McClintock, Levi and adidas,

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAVE THE TA-TAS

COLLEGE STORE EXECUTIVE • JULY/AUGUST 2011