By Anne D'Innocenzio, Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Will shoppers see quirkier advertising coming from Wal-Mart?
The world's largest retailer confirmed Thursday that its chief marketing officer Stephen Quinn is retiring, and it's tapping into the talent of former Target executive Michael Francis as a consultant. Francis is best known for his nearly 30-year career at Target, where he helped create the discounter's cheap-chic image through whimsical advertising.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said Quinn will be leaving the company Jan. 31, 2016. Quinn had joined Wal-Mart in 2005 as a senior vice president of marketing and was named to his current position in 2007. In 2008, Quinn led Wal-Mart's rebranding effort that included the introduction of a new logo and tagline — Save money. Live Better.
The move to hire Francis as a marketing consultant comes as Wal-Mart is looking to reach out to higher-income shoppers where it sees more growth. It has also been making changes to its top management under Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon. The company's chief financial officer, Charles Holley, is set to retire by year-end. And in October, Wal-Mart's U.S. division named Steve Bratspies as chief merchandising officer for U.S. stores.
Francis left Target Corp. in October 2011 to join J.C. Penney Co. There, he served as president and worked for then-CEO Ron Johnson, who was spearheading a major reinvention plan that ended up being a disaster. Francis developed quirky advertising and monthly catalogs that marketed Johnson's strategy called "everyday prices." That plan eliminated most temporary promotions. But shoppers wanted frequent discounts, and Francis abruptly left in June 2012 amid a profit and sales tumble. Johnson was fired by Penney's board in April 2013.
After his stint at Penney, Francis served as a consultant at Gap and then joined DreamWorks Animation in December 2012, where he worked closely with Wal-Mart executives. It was announced this past summer that Francis planned to step down from his job as chief global brand officer later this month.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Deisha Barnett said that Francis will be helping out with marketing, advertising and figuring out ways for the discounter to engage with its customers. She declined to say whether Francis's consulting role would be full time or part time.
Sony reports healthy profits on strong sales of sensors and games
Sony's profit rose 69% in July-September from a year earlier on the back of strong sales of its image sensors, games, music and network services, the Japanese electronics and entertainment company said on Friday.
Quarterly profit was 338.5 billion yen ($2.2 billion), up from 200 billion yen in the year-earlier period, while consolidated quarterly sales edged up 3% year-on-year to 2.9 trillion yen ($19 billion).
Tokyo-based Sony's latest quarterly results were boosted by healthy demand around the world for image sensors used in mobile products.
Sales also held up in its video games division. During the latest quarter, 3.8 million PlayStation 5 game consoles were sold globally, compared with 4.9 million units sold the same period a year ago.
Demand remained strong for PS5 game software, according to Sony.
The top-selling music releases from Sony for the quarter included "SOS" by SZA, David Gilmour's "Luck and Strange" and Kenshi Yonezu's "Lost Corner."
One area where Sony's business suffered was its pictures division, including TV shows and movies, which was impacted by production delays caused by the strikes in Hollywood.
Among the recent hit films from Sony was "It Ends With Us," a romantic drama based on a novel.
Sony, which also makes digital cameras and TVs, maintained its 980-billion yen ($6.4 billion) profit forecast for the fiscal year through March 2025, up 1% from the previous fiscal year.
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