ABC challenges Leno and Letterman with shift of Jimmy Kimmel Live to 11:35 p.m. ET.

Abercrombie & Fitch sales slide as half-naked models begin to underwhelm.

BMW revs motorcycle line as Audi ups threat via Ducati purchase.

Barnes & Noble sees results boosted by Fifty Shades of Grey popularity.

Boston Market pulls salt shakers off tables.

Caribou Coffee inks on-site deal with Jewel grocery chain.

Conde Nast booms overseas.

Dell reports gloomy outlook.

Dos Equis hits streets with fleet of food trucks.

EPrize acquired by private-equity firm.

Fazoli's pivots toward more premium positioning. Continue reading...

Maybe we watched too much Willy Wonka as kids, but candy makers should always have a smile on their face, don’t you think? Tell that to the good folks at Chicago-based candy company Tootsie Roll Industries, who aren't particularly happy these days with the owners of a small shoe company that makes a roll-up shoe brand called Footzyrolls.

Not amused, Tootsie has decided to file suit in federal court against the makers, a company called Rollashoe, for “infringing on the brand name” Tootsie Roll, the the Chicago Tribune reports.

Tootsie Roll doesn’t want consumers to think the shoes are associated with the brand they’ve worked long and hard to build up and support, naturally. The 115-year-old Tootsie made $521 million in sales in 2010 believes that the Rollashoe’s two-year-old Footzyrolls, which made $519 million less in the same time frame, “dilute, or tarnish, the value of the Tootsie Roll brand,” the Tribe reports.Continue reading...

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, total holiday spending in the US is projected to reach $6.86 billion, the largest amount in the survey’s nine year history. Weak economy notwithstanding, NRF projects Americans will spend $72.31 on costumes, candy, and decorations, up from last year’s $66.28 and 2009’s $56.31. 

NetBase, the Social Media Insight & Analysis company, released the latest Brand Passion Index on the emotions, opinions and behaviors (a.k.a. "confectionery conversations") in the social media landscape on six candy brands: M&Ms, Skittles, Candy Corn, Reese's, Tootsie Rolls and SweeTarts. Overall, this Halloween is all about bite-size.Continue reading...

For those who are huge fans of both Halloween and branded consumer products, here's the second in our two-part series on Brands as Halloween Costumes.

Like the Mozilla Firefox costume above, Halloween is a time of year when you can unabashedly communicate your brand loyalty to the world by dressing yourself, or your child, as a favorite brand. Or, just in case you don't successfully bid on that creepy Snickers commericial costume, here are some more suggestions:Continue reading...