Personnel Updates:

7 For All Mankind, announced that it has named industry veteran Barry Miguel as its President.
The Buckle announced that its CFO Karen Rhoads will step down by February 2012.
The Children’s Place Retail Stores announced the appointment of Eric Bauer as COO. He will be responsible for supply chain, planning and allocation, store operations, finance, information technology and real estate.
Crocs, Inc. announced that Jeff Lasher has been appointed CFO.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation announced the appointment of Stephen Murray as the company’s President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, effective June 1. Murray will oversee Deckers’ subsidiary and distributor businesses.
Destination Maternity Corp. has named a new president. Chris Daniel will report to CEO Ed Krell, effective June 1. He will be responsible for merchandising, design, marketing, visual, sourcing and branding. Daniel most recently worked for Hot Topic Inc. where he was president of Torrid.
Finish Line announced that Donald Gualdoni has been appointed VP Business Development and Corporate Strategy, hired Terry Ledbetter as CIO, and announced Don Courtney will retire as President, E-Commerce.
Gap Inc. has ousted Patrick Robinson, the design director for its namesake brand.
Men’s Wearhouse announced Douglas Ewert will become CEO on June 15, when Founder and Chairman and CEO George Zimmer steps down.
NIKE, Inc. announced that Jim Calhoun is joining the company as the VP and CEO of Hurley.
Pacific Sunwear of California announced that Michael Kaplan has joined the company as Senior VP and CFO. He will be replacing Mike Henry.
Payless ShoeSource announced that Andrew Meyer has been named Senior VP and GMM for Payless’ women’s and accessories businesses.
Phillips-Van Heusen announced the appointment of Andrea Elliott as VP and General Manager Canadian Retail Operations. In this newly created position, Elliott is responsible for all aspects of the Canadian launch of Calvin Klein, Van Heusen, IZOD, and G.H. Bass & Co. retail stores across Canada.
True Religion Apparel, Inc. named Jordan Daly as VP of Brand Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations.
Zale Corp. announced the company’s CFO, Matt Appel, has been appointed as Chief Administrative Officer. He will continue to serve as CFO.
Zumiez announced its CFO Trevor Lang is leaving the company.
Industry Insight:
Hudson’s Bay Co. announced their expansion in to the U.S. The company will roll out HBC’s Home Outfitters chain by testing two new upscale home-goods stores in New Jersey starting in late summer 2011.
Kohl’s Department Stores announced future stores will be smaller than the 90,000 sq. ft. prototype that local shoppers are used to seeing
Sears Holdings Corp. recently announced plans to expand its beauty offerings to more than 100 Sears locations and www.sears.com.
VF Corp. signed a licensing agreement with Kohl’s Corp. naming the discount chain the exclusive retailer for Rock & Republic.
Real Estate:
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced the remodeling of a 60,000 sq. ft. facility located in Markland Mall in Kokomo, IN to be completed in November 2011, at which time the company will open a new store under the Carson’s nameplate, replacing its current Elder-Beerman store presently located in the Kokomo Mall.
Forever 21 Inc. recently announced plans to open a three-story, 39,000 sq. ft. flagship store in Miami in September 2011.
Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. plans to enter the Washington, D.C. area with its first metro-area Golfsmith location in Tysons Corner in June 2011. The new Golfsmith store will be located at in Vienna, VA.
H&M will open a new store in Denver, CO at Denver Pavilions this fall, and recently announced plans to open a flagship store occupying 22,000 sq. ft. of the Lincoln Theatre in Miami in 2012. H&M is opening its first Utah store this fall, a 23,000 sq. ft. store at Fashion Place mall in Murray.
Macy’s Inc. has announced the planned locations for three new Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores to open in fall 2011. Stores will open in the following shopping centers: Miromar Outlets, Estero, FL (25,000 sq. ft. opening planned for September 2011), Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, Wrentham, MA (24,000 sq. ft. opening planned for October 2011), Woodfield Village Green, Schaumburg, IL (24,000 sq. ft. opening planned for October 2011).
Mango opened a new 5,500 sq. ft. store in Manhattan‘s Herald Square.
Nordstrom Inc. opened the doors to its new store in Newark, DE. The 123,000 sq. ft. store, at Christiana Mall, is the first Nordstrom store in Delaware. The company also announced plans to relocate its Nordstrom Rack store at the Mall at the Source to the Gallery at Westbury Plaza in Westbury, N.Y. The new store will be located approximately one quarter mile from the existing location and is expected to open in fall 2012. By relocating, Nordstrom Rack will be able to open a new 36,000 sq. ft. store in a new development that is closer to the Nordstrom full-line store at Roosev
elt Field.
Prada will open its first Arizona store at Scottsdale Fashion Square later this year.
Recreational Equipment Inc. will enter South Carolina with a new one-story, approximately 22,000 sq. ft. store in Greenville, which is slated to open in fall 2011.
Rue21 Inc. opened its 500th etc! store on May 5, in Franklin Mills, PA.
The Sports Authority Inc. recently opened a new Beaverton, OR. The 56,000 sq. ft. store, located in Cedar Hills Crossing, is more than 15,000 sq. ft. larger than Sports Authority’s previous Beaverton location and will mark the eighth Sports Authority in the state of Oregon.
The Timberland Co. opened a new 2,300 sq. ft. store in San Francisco, CA at the Westfield San Francisco Centre.
Topshop recently announced plans to open a new flagship store in Chicago. The 49,000 sq. ft., three-level corner location will open on Sept. 7. The company also plans to launch a 12,000 sq. ft. store in Toronto in late September 2011.

UNIQLO Co. will continue its North American expansion, with the opening of its third New York location in fall 2011.
Technology News:
American Apparel is ramping up its item-level RFID tagging initiative. The company signed an agreement to deploy Xterprise’s Clarity Advanced Retail System (ARS) software at 50 of its retail locations, 25 of which will be located in the United States.
Chico’s FAS is building a new Performance Optimized Data (POD) center at its distribution and fulfillment facility in Winder, Ga.
Columbia Sportswear Co. announced plans to expand its e-commerce operations to Canada and up to eight markets across Europe in fall 2011. The company plans to launch new e-commerce sites for its flagship Columbia brand, as well as for its rapidly growing Sorel brand, enabling customers in Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Spain to buy Columbia and Sorel brand products online directly from a company-managed e-commerce site for the first time.
Pier 1 Imports has announced plans to invest in information systems enhancements as part of its capital expenditure in the fiscal year ending February 2012. Investments in information technology will include a new point-of-sale system, an e-commerce platform, replacement of legacy systems, new software for store labor schedule optimization and enhancements to existing systems. Additionally, the company will invest in new store traffic counters, cash stand computer kiosks and other network and infrastructure needs.