Marketing

Skechers retail stores could be in for a sales boost later this year as pro football Hall of Famer Howie Long becomes the newest member of the footwear brand’s endorsement roster.
 
Skechers, operator of 1,340 stores, inked Long for a multi-year deal that involves TV, print and digital components through 2018. Long is best known today as a game day commentator of Fox’s NFL broadcasts, but prior to that he was one of the league’s most dominating defensive linemen during a 12 year career with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders.
 

ModCloth, known for its indie and vintage-inspired styles, appointed Phil Neri as chief financial officer (CFO), starting April 15.

Neri joins ModCloth with over two decades of financial and operational experience in the consumer, online and multichannel retail sector, most recently serving as CFO at home and lifestyle brand Serena & Lily since 2011.

Meijer has plans to open stores in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Cleveland and Minneapolis during the next five years, reported MLive.com. "We see Cleveland as the next city to go to," said CEO Hank Meijer, with the first stores opening in 2018 or 2019, the report continued. [MLive.com]

In a first, Tiffany & Co. will sell its jewelry online, on a site other than its own.

Tiffany has entered into a limited collaboration with online retailer Net-A-Porter to make select Tiffany items available for purchase on the global fashion site.

“With their recognized edit and fashion authority, Net-A-Porter will re-introduce Tiffany as more than the legendary jeweler, but an expression of personal style,” said Philippe Galtie, senior vice president of international sales at Tiffany & Co.

Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz recently touched down at Target Corp. headquarters in Minneapolis as part of Target’s series of “innovation speakers.” “With Starbucks, I dreamed of building a national brand and different kind of company, achieving balance between profit and conscience, bringing people along on the journey, and impacting the communities we serve,” Schultz said. “The kind of company my parents never got the chance to work for.

Promotions, markdowns and supply chain issues took a toll on Pier in the fourth quarter as the retailer lower profits on declining sales. But the results were better than earlier projections and executives expressed confidence in the chain’s turnaround efforts.

Pier 1’s sales declined 1.4% to $542.3 million in the quarter ended Feb. 27; same store sales fell 0.6%. Net income was $18.7 million, down from $33.1 million in the year-ago period.

Gap Inc. has named a longtime member of its executive team to head up its Old Navy brand.

The retailer appointed Sonia Syngal as global president of Old Navy, effective immediately, as it looks to reenergize its value-driven brand. She succeeds Stefan Larsson, who left last year to become CEO of Ralph Lauren Corp.

Syngal, a 12-year Gap veteran, most recently served as executive VP of global supply chain and product operations for Gap Inc.