To reach more consumers, IKEA goes outside and is furnishing street sidewalks with bright and comfortable pieces from its stores. Earlier this year, the iconic furniture retailer created home environment in the space of a Paris underground station, and now it decided to continue the movement by taking sofas to the streets of the capital. The unique installations, which occupied bus shelters around the city, will be on display from December 15 through December 21.

IKEA, which is known as a supplier of affordable home interior pieces, has shown signs of interest in new approaches in fashion industry. This October, the iconic furniture retailer invited up-and-coming Swedish designers to participate in a competition dubbed ‘IKEA Garderob’ for a chance to have their new collections displayed in a personally designed double PAX-wardrobe at a trendy shop in Stockholm’s Bibliotekstan street.

Since opening its first store in 1958, the global retailer IKEA has been continuously exploring the theme of interior design, both appealing and affordable. It has established itself as a leader in delivering smart solutions for middle class consumers who want their homes to be comfortable and even somewhat glamour, but have to stay within the limits of their salaries. This time, IKEA has teamed up with the Babelgum online television platform to launch the Inside Design: the Reality of Living with Style project, which saw four New York City designers competing to develop a room design on a $5,000 budget.

With the winter holidays coming up, brands are busy promoting their products or services in the most eye-catching way. The retail chains have to do the double work promoting their venues and selling the advertized goods at the same time in the most intense period of the pre-Christmas season. To educate consumers how to behave during the holiday frenzy, Target released a series of hilarious adverts about Black Friday 2-Day Sale featuring comedian Maria Bamford.

Pleated, pierced and crimped together just so, here comes the planet’s newest diva: Miss Illy, famed Barneys New York creative director Simon Doonan’s singular vision in illy espresso tins and foil, debuted November 16 in the Barneys New York holiday windows. Fresh and full-bodied as the primo Arabica she once so lovingly nurtured (her parts all fashionably recycled), Ms. Illy is the can’t-miss vixen centerpiece of the iconic retailer’s Madison Avenue flagship windows, themed “Have a Foodie Holiday” for 2010.

P&W has designed the packaging for Tesco’s newly-launched Mexican ready meals. The range, comprising seventeen different products including fajitas, enchiladas and ribs, taps into consumer interest in Mexican food by offering consumer a convenient alternative to leading brands such as Old El Paso, which require consumers to assemble the components themselves, and brings something new to the ready meals category.

Starbucks Coffee Company celebrates the launch of the holiday season in the chain with the arrival of Starbucks® handcrafted holiday beverages in the iconic red cups. Starbucks invites customers to bring a friend to participating company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada on November 18-21 to receive a free beverage when purchasing a holiday beverage of equal or lesser value, which includes the Caramel Brulée Latte, Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Latte, Eggnog Latte, Peppermint White Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Hot Chocolate.