Marketing

Chico's FAS is getting rid of its chief marketing officer.

The apparel retailer on Monday announced a realignment of its marketing and digital commerce functions that the company expects will reduce its 2016 marketing expenses by $11 million and generate annualized cost savings of approximately $14 million.

The steel framing on Ikea’s future Memphis store has progressed far enough to allow for the installation of the chain’s iconic blue panels, a construction milestone that keeps the store on track to open this fall.

The 271,000-sq.-ft. store is being built on 35 acres in the Wolfchase Corridor along the southwestern side of Interstate-40 near the Germantown Parkway exit.

J.Crew customers on Saturday received a surprise in their email accounts — a letter from the CEO and chairman of the company, Mickey Drexler.

In the note, Drexler recounted how he was recently told by a shopper that the J.Crew she loves "is back.” He then asked customers to come into stores or check out the J. Crew e-commerce site to see what she was talking about, and also requested they email him directly with their thoughts. ([email protected].)

Regardless of the final outcome of its acquisition of Office Depot, Staples just nominated three individuals to its board of directors with unique perspectives on growth.

Curtis Feeny, managing director of Voyager Capital, Deb Henretta, former group president of global e-commerce at Procter & Gamble and John Lundgren, chairman and CEO of Stanley Black & Decker, have been nominated by the Staples board of directors for election at the company’s 2016 annual meeting.

Inspired by the history of Hollywood, Starbucks has set up shop at Universal Boulevard, a new main street-styled retail destination at Universal Studios Hollywood.

The façade of the 5,000-sq.-ft. store is broken up into multiple buildings, as if it had originally been the site of several small shops. The interior is fashioned as one grand space. A banquette made of reclaimed black walnut wood curves like a siren’s tale, creating seating eddies.

Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday announced changes to its board of director of directors that it said were designed to make to make it more nimble and able to respond quicker to today’s fast-changing market.

As part of the changes, four current board members — Aida Alvarez, Roger Corbett, Mike Duke and Jim Walton — will retire and not stand for re-election. In addition, the retailer is shrinking its board by three members to 12, a move that brings it more in line with the size of most U.S. corporation boards.

Under Armour continued its winning ways in the first quarter, beating sales and earnings forecast as net revenue rose 30%. The brand has had 24 consecutive quarters — six years — of sales growth of more than 20%.

Sales rose to $1.05 billion for the quarter that ended March 31, up from $805 million in the first three months of last year. The company noted that footwear sales soared more than 60% to $264 million amid the popularity of NBA superstar Stephen Curry’s signature basketball shoe line and expanded running offerings.

The retail executives responsible for delivering omnichannel customer experience admit there is much work to be done to come in line with consumer expectations and demands.

Business technology and services provider Periscope, a McKinsey solution, conducted a survey of attendees at World Retail Congress 2016 held in Dubai in April 2016. According to the results, only 21% say they are more confident than a year ago on delivering omnichannel experiences. Another 45% say progress is not happening fast enough.