Personnel Updates:

Belk named Mark Chandler as Exec VP Operations.
Victoria’s Secret Direct announced Bridget Ryan-Berman has been named CEO of the Internet and catalog division and replaces Pia Ferrario, who will remain as CEO through the holiday season and then transition into an advisory role with the company.
Zale Corporation announced that Subha Ramesh has been named Senior VP, Real Estate.
Industry Insight:

Bon Ton is leaving the Rochestermarket. The locations at Eastview Mall and Greece Ridge are scheduled to close in March 2012. The sale of the Marketplace location is slated for completion by March 2014. The closings will impact approximately 190 associates.
Destination Maternity Corp. announced the opening of its 50th Motherhood Maternity shop-in-shop in India.
Dots LLC opened a new flagship store in Bronx, NYin the Bay Plaza Shopping Center. In addition to this location, Dots plans to open 45 new locations and remodel 70 existing locations in 2012.
Lord & Taylor plans to open three new stores in the coming year. Two locations are slated to open in March, an 80,000 sq. ft. store in Yonkers, NY, and a 120,000 sq. ft. store in Rockingham, NH. Then in fall 2012, Lord & Taylor will open an 80,000 sq. ft. store in Boca Raton, FL, bringing the total number of full-priced Lord & Taylor stores to 50.
Macy’s Inc. has announced a multiyear renovation of its flagship store at Herald Square in New York. The company is investing approximately $400 million in the project over the next four years. Additional selling space will be added to allow for expanded assortments and upgraded presentations in key merchandise categories, including shoes, handbags, cosmetics and fashion brands. Work will begin in early spring 2012 and continue in phases through fall 2015. The store will remain open and operating during construction.
Stuart Weitzman Inc. announced that in December shops will open in Scottsdale, AZ, Bloomington, MN, and Tampa, FL. Additionally, new store openings are slated in 2012 for New Orleans, LA, Hackensack and Short Hills, NJ, Palo Alto and Los Angeles, CA, Chestnut Hill, MA, Charlotte, NC, and Boca Raton, FL. Another 35 stores also are planned to open abroad in 2012 in Korea, Taiwan, the Middle East, Germany, Spain, Italyand Austria.
Talbots Inc. identified 110 stores for closure. The company said 83 would go by year’s end, followed by 25 in 2012 and the final two in 2013.

Tiffany & Co. announced plans to open a store in Prague, marking the retailer’s first location in Eastern Europe. The 2,600 sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in the summer of 2012.
Real Estate:

Dick’s Sporting Goods continues its expansion with 4 new stores in OH and MI.
Donna Karan Intl. Inc. opened an Urban Zen store in Los Angeles, CA.
Elie Tahari recently opened two new shops. The boutique inside Neiman Marcus at the NorthPark Centerin Dallas, TX measures 1,100 sq. ft. The 2,700 sq. ft. standalone Elie Tahari store is the company’s first-ever freestanding store in Texas.
Saks plans to close its 20,000 sq. ft. Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th store in Triangle Factory Outlets in Morrisville, NC. Recently, the company opened a 30,000 sq. ft. Off 5th location in Mebane, NC, in 2010, which will serve as a replacement store for the closing location.
The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. opened two new stores: a Carson‘s store in Kokomo, IN, and a Herberger’s store in the greater Minneapolisarea. The one-level, 60,000 sq. ft. Carson‘s store will be located at the Kokomo Mall. The new tri-level, 135,000 sq. ft. Herberger’s store will be located at the Southdale Center in Edina, MN.
The Timberland Co. plans to open it’s first-ever Minneapolis retail location. Situated at 3001 Hennepin Ave.—as part of the Calhoun Squareshopping area in the Uptown district—the new 2,000 sq. ft. space opens on Nov. 18, 2011.
Technology News:

Charming Shoppes announced that it has launched Sonsi.com to give customers around the world online access to fashion brands Lane Bryant, Cacique, Catherines, Fashion Bug and Loop 18, as well as more than 300 brands.