Target, Inc.

While a fickle economy forced many retailers into challenging periods of deep discounting, some top retail brands have stayed above the fray. In a recent survey of Americans about brands across several retail segments, Walgreens emerged as the first ever drugstore brand of the year; Target stores was top-ranked for second straight year; and Woot.com replaced Groupon as the best daily deal web site.

The supplier of kefir cultured dairy products is nearly tripling distribution in Target stores as well as adding new Lifeway products to Target's dairy cases.

The Target team at Hain Celestial Group Inc. was in a promotion rut. With a limited trade budget, they wanted to determine if they were spending those dollars wisely. And, if not, where those dollars could be better spent.

The executive once served as Gap, Inc.'s EVP and CMO where he was responsible for leading marketing strategy, retail store design, store experience and all consumer communication.

There were several big shifts, but Walmart maintains its No. 1 position on Interbrand's U.S. Most Valuable Retail Brands list for 2012 by a huge margin. Meanwhile, Amazon.com, which increased its brand value by 32 percent, is the largest riser on this year's list.

Sales results for Black Friday and Cyber Monday are in, and aside from signaling growing consumer confidence with record breaking totals, the statistics point to another key consumer trend: Mobile shopping is on the up and up.

In 2010, a breakthrough new report proved that downstream data is a key initiative for consumer goods companies and retailers alike. This year, CGT is polling both trading partners again to determine how much headway has been made in data sharing strategies.

The first 10 spots on the annual Top 100 retailer list from STORES magazine hold the same names as last year, but pressures from the uncertain economy and the impact of online retail are forcing them to make changes to stay ahead.