Personnel Updates:
Brooks Brothers named Vivien Kronengold to the newly created position of Exec VP and Chief Marketing Officer.
Cache Inc. announced that Anthony DiPippa will join the company as Exec VP, CFO. Mr. DiPippa, succeeds Margaret Feeney, who resigned from the company.
Charming Shoppes Inc. announced Diane Ellis as the new CEO of Lane Bryant.
Coldwater Creek announced the appointment of Deborah Cavanagh as Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer.
Delia’s Inc. announced that Daphne Smith has been hired as Exec VP of Operations.
Guess Inc. announced the appointment of Sandeep Reddy as CFO.
JCPenney has named Debra Berman as Senior VP Brand Strategy. Paul Rutenis, a buyer for the home department, has left the company.
NIKE, Inc. announced that Craig Cheek will become the new VP of Men’s Training. Reenie Benziger will assume the role of VP of Young Athletes.
Zale Corporation announced that Bridgett Zeterberg has been promoted to Senior VP, General Counsel and Secretary.
Mergers and Acquisitions:
Saks Inc. will be bought by Hudson’s Bay Company. The combined company will operate 320 stores throughout the United States and Canada, along with three e-commerce sites. Saks will operate separately under the Hudson’s Bay umbrella, including its own merchandising, marketing and store operations teams, and will remain headquartered in New York. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
True Religion Apparel, Inc. announced the completion of the acquisition of the company by TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P., the New York-based investment management firm.
Industry Insight:
American Eagle Outfitters has opened its first corporate office and technology center in San Francisco, CA. The 10,000 sq. ft. office at 49 Stevenson Street will be used to support the company’s engineers, designers and digital marketing teams.
Barneys New York recently announced that it is retiring its Co-op name. All existing Co-op stores will be rebranded as smaller Barneys New York units.
Macy’s Inc. and Lids Sports Group have signed an agreement to open licensed team merchandise departments in Macy’s stores. Plans call for Locker Room by Lids departments to be piloted in approximately 25 Macy’s stores in fall 2013, and for an additional 175 in-store departments in spring 2014 as part of the initial phase. The size of the in-store licensed departments will average 500 sq. ft. to 1,000 sq. ft. per location. The departments also will incorporate an interactive kiosk through which customers can place online orders
Real Estate:
Brown Shoe Co. Inc. is expanding its Famous Footwear retail chain outside of the United States with its first Canada store. Famous Footwear opened on Aug. 1 at Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, ON. The company’s plans also call for Famous Footwear to open more than 50 new stores in the United States next year.
Dick’s Sporting Goods debuted its Field & Stream concept on August 16. The first-ever Field & Stream retail store is located at 1000 Cranberry Square Dr. in Cranberry Township, PA. The company is opened a new Dick’s Sporting Goods store at the Chico Mall in Chico, CA on July 12.
Fifth & Pacific Cos. will open a Kate Spade Saturday store in the fall. The 3,000 sq. ft. store will be at 152 Spring Street in New York, NY.
Joe’s Jeans Inc. announced the opening of its thirty-third retail boutique, located at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, NV.
Lord & Taylor will return to Albany, NY with a new store scheduled to open in fall 2014. Construction on the new 100,000 sq. ft. store will begin in January 2013.
Lululemon Athletica opened its first ever location in Mississippi in Jackson’s Fondren district.
Nordstrom Inc. plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in the landmark Offerman building in Brooklyn, NY. Located at 505 Fulton St., the approximately 41,000 sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2014. The company also plans to open a new Nordstrom Rack store at Baybrook Square in Webster, TX. The approximately 31,000 sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2015.
REI will open a new store in Knoxville, TN in fall 2014. The 23,500 sq. ft. store will be located at Papermill Plaza.
Rue21 Inc. has debuted its new rueGuy concept, with three new stores located in Bay Shore, NY, Harlingen, TX, and New Boston, OH. The approximately 6,000 sq. ft. stores are the first of seven rueGuy stores slated to open across the United States during the month of August. The company is on target to open approximately 20 rueGuy locations by the end of the year.
Saks Fifth Avenue opened a new OFF 5TH store in Rosemont, IL, on Aug. 1. The store is located in the Fashion Outlets of Chicago and is approximately 27,000 sq. ft.
Swatch Group Ltd. is expanding its Tourbillon boutique concept. The expansion includes new and planned stores in Seattle, Dallas and Las Vegas. The retailer’s newest boutique is located in Seattle’s Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The company also has reopened its Las Vegas store at Crystals in a new 3,800 sq. ft. space, marking the retailer’s largest-ever location. The next planned boutique slated to open in October will be located at NorthPark Center in Texas.
Zara will open a new store in Miami, FL. The new 24,000 sq. ft. store will be located at 420 Lincoln Rd.
