rebranding

On Tuesday, Sears Holdings announced it would close as many as 120 Sears and Kmart stores after a holiday sales season in which it fell flat on its face. What Sears really needs is a new image -- an idea that will lure shoppers back. Could "Made in the USA" be it?

Style watchers have their eye on Fashion Week, under way in the Big Apple -- and so does J.C. Penney. The jcp design groupe is bringing legitimate fashion cred to the retailer, with trendy looks that rival higher-end chains. Follow their new camel cape from conception to consumer with us and you'll get the message they're sending: This is not your mother's J.C. Penney.

J.C. Penney hasn't even launched its new logo yet, but the critics aren't wasting any time in trashing it. Why do companies repackage themselves -- and what happens when customers don't like the new look? Just ask Gap or Tropicana, both of which quickly reverted to what they had previously.

High-fructose corn syrup has gotten such a bad name that the Corn Refiners Association, in a bid to repair its image, has asked the federal government to allow it to drop the label and replace it with "corn sugar." In a petition to the FDA, the lobbying arm of the syrup-making industry argues that...

PepsiCo is starting to make rebranding missteps a habit. This time it's Gatorade. Despite the simple "G" on the bottles, there are now so many brands and flavors of the sports drink that consumers need a users guide to figure out which one to buy.

This weekend, AIG began a major rebranding initiative, changing the signs at some of its most prominent buildings and renaming some of its companies to distance them from its recent scandals. When things are going well, a brand name is a good thing to have. For a well-respected company, it...

The Sharper Image, once a staple at malls around the country, was snuffed out of business last year. Strangely, it seems that providing people with a free place to try out a massage recliner is not a viable business model.But there's still some value in the techno-gadget brand name, and at the...