M&M’s will open its first shop outside the States in London’s Leicester Square tomorrow. The US chocolate brand that is worth around £1.7 billion and belongs to Mars, Inc follows the trend of so called ‘retailtainment’ where global brands use their flagship stores as tourist attractions as well as shops. For instance, Disney recently re-designed its Oxford Street store to include famous Disney characters, a cinema and its own ‘closing ceremony’ at the end of each day.

On June 23, Nike re-opened its major 1948 store in Shoreditch. In the summer of 2008, Nike launched 1948 in an abandoned East London railway arch. Part retail space, part creative playground, 1948 ‘was about the constantly shifting space between art and athleticism,’ as explained in on the store’s web site. The space has undergone an extensive re-design in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

On June 29, PUMA Volvo Ocean Racing powered by Berg Propulsion introduced Laird Hamilton, big wave surfer and father of modern stand-up paddleboarding, as the honorary 12th crew member of the PUMA Ocean Racing team. PUMA and Hamilton unite to search for the world’s biggest, ride-able waves and to launch a line of innovative stand-up paddleboards. In addition, PUMA revealed a new youth ocean preservation campaign and presented a mascot, educator and honorary 13th crew member, Marmo.