DATATRAC

Personnel Updates

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has named Ashley Sargent Price as Senior VP and Creative Director of Marketing.

• Charming Charlie Inc. has appointed Ujjwal Dhoot as VP Marketing.

• Destination Maternity Corporation announced that it will be looking for a new CFO after the resignation of Judd P. Tirnauer, who plans to depart the company on April 22 to take a senior leadership role with Wet Seal Inc.

• Finish Line Inc. announced has named AJ Sutera to the role of Exec VP, Chief Information and Technology Officer.

• Francesca’s Holdings Corp. announced that it has named Kelly M. Dilts as its new CFO.

• Gap Inc. announced that it had appointed Sonia Syngal as its new leader for its Old Navy chain.

• Kohl’s Corporation announced that Exec VP of Marketing, Will Setliff, has resigned.

• L Brands announced that as many as 200 employees will be laid off in Columbus and New York as part of the company’s integration of its Victoria’s Secret and Pink direct-sales businesses into the store businesses.

• Macy’s Inc. has appointed Douglas W. Sesler as Exec VP Real Estate.

• Macy’s Inc. announced Martine Reardon, Chief Marketing Officer, has decided to leave the company effective May 13.

• Neiman Marcus Group announced its Chief Marketing Officer, Wanda Gierhart, is stepping down from her position.

• Nordstrom Inc. has named Kumar Srinivasan as Chief Technology Officer.

• Ross Stores has named Bernard Brautigan to the role of President of Merchandising.

• Sears Canada Inc. promoted Becky Penrice to Exec VP and COO.

• Sears Holdings Corporation announced that James Andrew has joined the company in the new role of Chief Administrative Officer.

• Stein Mart Inc. announced Jay Stein is stepping down as CEO and will remain with the company as Chairman. The company named Dawn Robertson as the new CEO.

Financial Focus

• Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection.

• Vestis Retail Group, parent company of Eastern Mountain Sports, Sport Chalet and Bob’s Stores announced it will file for Chapter 11 protection.

Industry Insight

• Blue Nile Inc. will open a new store at Tysons Corner Center mall in Fairfax County, VA, by mid-summer as part of a strategy to open four locations this year.

• H&M announced plans for a net addition of approximately 425 new stores for the year. H&M will make its debut in new markets such as New Zealand, Cyprus and Puerto Rico.

• L Brands announced it will eliminate its iconic Victoria’s Secret catalogs to focus on loyalty programs and engagement as part of a reorganization of the brand.

• New York & Company Inc. plans to convert more of its stores to an outlet format.

• The Timberland Company has opened a new 9,687 sq. ft. store at 158 Oxford St. in London.

• Tory Burch has opened its first Tory Sport store. The 5,000 sq. ft. store is located at 129 Fifth Ave. in New York City, NY.

• Urban Outfitters Inc. is testing larger-sized stores for its Anthropologie brand that will span 20,000 sq. ft. to 30,000 sq. ft.

Real Estate

• Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. opened its latest Field & Stream store in Kalamazoo, MI on April 1st.

• Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream will open a dual-format store in Scranton, PA. The store will replace the existing Sears at the property in 90,000 sq. ft. of space. Sears will close this July with Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream scheduled to open for the 2017 holiday season.

• Macy’s Inc. will open a new 24,000 sq. ft. Bloomingdale’s Outlet store in November in The Outlets at Orange, in Orange, CA.

• Nordstrom Inc. has opened its new 186,000 sq. ft. relocated store at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, HI. The company also announced plans to open new stores in Cedar Park, TX, and Washington, DC. The 31,000 sq. ft. Cedar Park store is slated to open in spring 2017 while the 37,000 sq. ft., Washington, DC, store is scheduled to open in fall 2016.

• Ross Stores recently opened a total of 22 Ross Dress for Less and six dd’s DISCOUNTS stores across 15 different states in February and March.

• Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH has opened its newest store in Atlanta. The 27,000 sq. ft. store is located in Buckhead at 1 Buckhead Loop. Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th opened at 6 S. State in downtown Chicago. A second new Chicago location is in the NewCity development at 1457 N. Halsted St. The 40,000 sq. ft. store is scheduled to open May 5.

• Sportsman’s Warehouse announced plans to open 11 new stores in 2016.