Marketing

On a day when his company reported its fifth straight quarter of sales declines, the CEO of Barnes & Noble sounded a positive note, telling the Wall Street Journal that the retailer is looking at a new store prototype.

Niwot, Colo. -- Footwear marketer Crocs is on the hunt for a new CFO.

The company announced that Jeff Lasher, senior VP and CFO, is leaving the company to join boating supplies and accessories retailer West Marine Inc.

Lasher, who joined Crocs in 2009, will remain with the company through early November. He plans to join West Marine as CFO in November.

Mike Smith, Crocs senior VP for finance, has been named interim CFO effective Oct. 1 and will work closely with Lasher during a transition period.

Starbucks Coffee Company's first store in Panama is located in Panama City, in the Street Mall shopping center. With a 28-ft. high ceiling, the focal point of the 3,304-sq.-ft. store is a one-of-a-kind custom made hanging mobile, designed to represent the Geisha coffee plant, which signifies the birth of the coffee industry in Panama.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association issued a strenuous objection to what it called the Department of Labor’s “flawed” overtime proposal.

San Jose, Calif. – The nation’s largest online marketplace is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and it’s marking the occasion with a special shopping event — and a traveling Airstream trailer.

Long Island City, N.Y. -- Steve Madden has made two key executive promotions.

The company announced that Amelia Newton Varela has been named to the newly created position of president, and Karla Frieders has been appointed to the newly created position of chief merchandising officer.

Varela has more than 17 years of experience with Steve Madden in various roles, most recently as executive VP of wholesale.

Edison, N.J. -- Aerosoles has appointed a retail and footwear veteran with more than two decades of experience as CEO.

The company named retail and footwear industry veteran executive R. Shawn Neville as CEO, effective Sept. 8. He takes over from interim CEO Caryn Lerner, operating partner of Palladin Consumer Retail Partners, which acquired privately owned Aerosoles in June 2014.

Indianapolis – With retailers like Amazon.com entering the online services market, online services network Angie’s List is tapping a veteran retail e-commerce executive to run the company.

Scott Durchslag, who served as president of e-commerce and global marketing at Best Buy from 2012-2014, has joined Angie’s List as president and CEO.

Philadelphia – Five Below is opening its largest location to date, in its home city of Philadelphia.
 
The extreme-value retailer, which targets tweens and teens with goods priced at $5 or less, will open a two-story, 13,000-sq.-ft. store next to its headquarters on Thursday, Sept. 10.

Rockaway, N.J. - In anticipation for the Halloween season, Party City will hire an additional 20,000 employees nationwide.

The retailer is hiring Halloween associates to undertake a variety of positions at its 900 stores.

Employees undergo a specialized training program to gain Halloween costume product knowledge.