Marketing

Redmond, Wash. – Microsoft will open its first flagship location, on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

In addition, Microsoft plans to open 10 new stores across the U.S. in time for the 2014 holiday season, while the flagship New York store is being built. Microsoft has not given a specific timeframe for when the flagship will open, but said it has been planning the store for five years. It will open in a spot currently occupied by luxury accessories brand Fendi, a few blocks south of an Apple store.

Matthews, N.C. – Family Dollar Stores Inc. launches its “Ad Match Promise” program on Sept. 30. When presented with a local competitor’s printed advertisement, Family Dollar stores will match the competitor’s price.

American Apparel has appointed Scott Brubaker as interim CEO and Hassan Natha as EVP and CFO, effective immediately, following John Luttrell’s resignation from the company. Luttrell had been serving as interim CEO and CFO.

Dallas – The Container Store has hired Pete Lodwick as VP and general counsel. Lodwick will lead both internal and external teams responsible for legal strategy, regulatory affairs, and corporate compliance.

Prior to joining The Container Store, Lodwick practiced for 34 years at the Dallas-based law firm Thompson & Knight in the corporate and securities department.

Coach has announced that executive chairman Lew Frankfort plans to retire upon his term’s expiration. He will not stand for re-election to the board at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders in November.

The company intends to bestow upon him the honorary title of chairman emeritus at that time.

Strategist, adviser, communicator, futurist: Retail chief financial officers have seen their role broaden so much in recent years that, in some cases, they have become virtual partners with the CEO. Once responsible primarily for financial stewardship, the CFO is embracing a growing number of additional roles encompassing strategic planning, technology and perhaps even a bit of crystal ball gazing.

Broadening responsibilities at a business brings with it an exponential increase in worries. And retail is no exception.

Mixed-use projects have become a consumer home base

The concept of a shopping center as a place where people simply show up to make a few purchases and leave is becoming passé. Increasingly, developers are building mixed-use centers that include residential, office and entertainment components, which turn them more into a consumer home base and less of a functional destination.