brand_strategy

Lufkin – September 13, 2026 -- Lemon Seed Marketing will host its seventh annual Lemon Seed Conference, themed "Into the Wilderness," on March 3-6, 2027, at Timber Creek Church's Lufkin, Texas campus.

Event combines two days of education with three days of networking for home service leaders

The conference targets home service business owners and leaders, offering sessions on finance and operations, leadership and team building, and community engagement alongside a vendor expo. Crystal Williams, co-owner and lead strategist at Lemon Seed, said the "wilderness" theme reflects how independent home service owners navigate a competitive marketing landscape.

Beijing – September 12, 2026 -- Chinese jewellery brand Laopu Gold outsold the jewellery division of Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont Group in the Chinese market in 2025, a milestone that has drawn scrutiny from European luxury researchers.

Laopu Gold ranks first globally in store sales efficiency

Industry data cited by Professor Stéphane JG Girod of IMD business school shows Laopu Gold ranked first globally among luxury brands in both single-store sales efficiency and floor-area efficiency in 2025 and from January to June 2026. Within the jewellery category, its per-store performance was several times higher than that of other international jewellery brands. The company is currently the only Chinese brand present in the high jewellery segment of the luxury market.

Chicago – September 12, 2026 -- Corgi, an AI-driven financial infrastructure company, has appointed retail-investing media personality Erin Gambrel as VP, Financial Services, tasking her with expanding retail investor reach across its ETF lineup of nearly 200 funds.

Corgi taps a media figure with a 20-million-strong retail audience

Gambrel joins from Investing Authority, an investor relations firm where she served as Vice President overseeing retail trading campaigns for a network reaching more than 20 million retail investors. Known publicly as "The Blonde Broker," she has spent a decade building financial media brands, contributes regularly to The New York Times and Forbes, and hosts The Market Runup, a financial podcast and newsletter produced under StrataMedia.

New York – September 12, 2026 -- Wella Company will place four haircare brands -- Wella Professionals, Sebastian Professional, Nioxin and Briogeo -- into Target Beauty Studio, a new prestige beauty retail concept launching September 10 across more than 600 stores and on Target.com.

Target Beauty Studio debuts with 90 curated brands and 1,600 products

The retail format spans skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrance, bath and body, and nails, combining specialty-level merchandising with dedicated Beauty Advisors and Target Circle promotional offers. Wella's four brands enter as part of this curated prestige and emerging-brand assortment.

New York City – September 12, 2026 -- Genesis House, the Genesis Motor North America flagship in the Meatpacking District, has partnered with New York Korean-American hospitality group Hand Hospitality to relaunch its restaurant concept later this fall.

Genesis House restaurant closes in September ahead of Hand Hospitality takeover

The current restaurant operation will temporarily close beginning in September 2026, ending Genesis House's culinary partnership with Restaurant Associates, which had run the food and beverage program since the venue opened in November 2021. Hand Hospitality, founded by Kihyun Lee in New York City in 2011, will assume leadership of the space and reopen it under a new concept later this fall; specific menu, design and timing details have not yet been disclosed.

Chicago – September 12, 2026 -- Protein2o has appointed Mark Rappaport as Chief Executive Officer and Board member, pairing the leadership change with a new growth investment aimed at expanding the clear protein beverage maker's retail footprint and innovation pipeline.

Rappaport joins from Congo Brands, where he served as Global Chief Commercial Officer

Rappaport most recently led the global commercial organization at Congo Brands, overseeing a portfolio that includes Alani Nu. He spent over two decades scaling beverage and consumer brands, including senior leadership roles at Red Bull, where he ran the company's U.S. business and distribution organization during a period of significant growth.

Secaucus – September 11, 2026 -- The Vitamin Shoppe has appointed Kimberley Gardiner as Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, effective immediately, tasking the former Tractor Supply marketing chief with digitizing the 640-store wellness retailer ahead of its 50th anniversary next year.

Gardiner exits Tractor Supply after growing loyalty program to 40 million members

Gardiner joins from Tractor Supply Company, where she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since 2022, directing marketing across more than 2,400 stores. During her tenure, the retailer's Neighbor's Club loyalty program expanded to over 40 million members, while she advanced the company's "Life Out Here" brand positioning and omnichannel data strategy.

Innsbruck – September 09, 2026 -- Kitzbühel Tourismus won the TIROLERIN Award in the category "Tourism & Regional Value Creation," recognizing the destination's year-round strategy and regional economic impact. The prize was presented at a gala in the Riesensaal of the Kaiserliche Hofburg in Innsbruck, attended by more than 200 guests from business, culture and politics. Managing Director Dr. Viktoria Veider-Walser accepted the award on behalf of the organization's team.

Hamburg – September 09, 2026 -- Germany's Faktenkontor agency group has rebranded as PER Group, restructuring its five subsidiaries around client-outcome delivery rather than traditional agency disciplines such as PR, data or technology.

PER Group replaces discipline-based units with client-outcome "Impact Architectures"

The group, ranked 12th in the Pfeffer-Ranking of German PR agencies, will no longer organize services by function. Instead, each client engagement starts with a defined business outcome -- visibility, trust, acceptance or growth -- before communication, data, insights and technology are combined into what the group calls an individual "Impact Architecture."

Kitzbühel – September 08, 2026 -- Kitzbühel Tourismus received the TIROLERIN Award in the category "Tourism & Regional Value Creation" at a gala in the Imperial Hofburg in Innsbruck, recognizing the destination's shift to a year-round tourism strategy. Managing Director Dr. Viktoria Veider-Walser accepted the award on behalf of the organization before more than 200 guests from business, culture and politics.

Jury cites brand relaunch and strategic repositioning as key drivers

Florian Neuner, head of industry and corporate communications at Tirol Werbung, praised Kitzbühel Tourismus in his laudatory speech for its consistent strategic development process, highlighting the multi-award-winning 2024 brand relaunch. The relaunch was built on five defined success patterns, a core service proposition and a clear positioning statement, forming the basis for Kitzbühel's long-term development as a contemporary, year-round destination.