Personnel Updates

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (71) announced Daniel Le Vesconte as Group VP overseeing the company’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, and Olga Wu as Group VP overseeing the company’s Asia-Pacific region.

• Duluth Trading Company (45) announced that Stephanie Pugliese has resigned as President, CEO.

• James Avery Craftsman Inc. (24) announced that COO John McCullough has been appointed CEO. Chris Avery, who has been CEO since 2007, will retain his position as Chairman. In other announcements, the company said that Paul Zipp’s role as CFO has been expanded to include responsibilities of President and COO and Karina Dolgin has been promoted to Chief Product and Revenue Officer.

• JCPenney Company, Inc. (66) announced that Colin Dougherty will join the company as Senior VP, Finance.

• Kohl’s Corporation (78) has named Paul Gaffney as Senior Exec VP, Chief Technology Officer. The retailer announced Sona Chawla will step down as President next month.

• Macy’s Inc. (88) announced that Marla and Barry Beck, founders of Bluemercury, Inc., will transition from the company.

• The Neiman Marcus Group (61) announced it has hired Lana Todorovich as Chief Merchandising Officer. The retailer also announced its CFO, Adam Orvos, will be retiring next month.

• Tapestry Inc. (119) has appointed Jide Zeitlin as CEO. He replaces Victor Luis, who is leaving the retailer.

• Under Armour Inc. (57) announced that it had appointed Stephanie Pugliese as President, North America.

Financial Focus

• Cole Haan confirmed that it is preparing for an initial public offering.

Industry Insight

• Gap Inc. announced it will begin franchising its Athleta and Janie & Jack brands internationally, starting with online and in shop-in-shop formats.

• Crew Group Inc. announced its Madewell brand is splitting from the company. Madewell currently has 133 stores across the U.S.

• Stein Mart Inc. has announced the launch of Stein Mart Kids, its new children’s department. The new section includes apparel, footwear and toys suitable for a range of ages and sizes. Stein Mart Kids has launched on steinmart.com as well.

Real Estate

• Everlane opened a new store in Brooklyn, NY. At 4,400 sq. ft., the store is the company’s largest to date.

• Macy’s Inc. said it plans to remodel 100 more stores

• M.M.LaFleur has announced plans to open a new concept store at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan.

• Old Navy said it plans to open approximately 75 stores a year, focusing on off-mall locations.

• Puma North America opened a new two level, 18,000 sq. ft. flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, NY.