Marketing

Same store sales literally fell off a cliff at Citi Trends in the waning days of the fourth quarter and the operator of 522 urban fashion stores is attributing the weakness to the federal government.

Surpassing $3 billion in annual sales last year was a big deal for Skechers and now CEO Robert Greenberg is banking on the addition of more than 300 new stores to help the company set another sales record in 2016.

Skechers plans to open between 330 and 340 stores this year, projecting it will have a year-end total of 1,650 locations, of which 575 will be company owned. The accelerated pace of expansion is easy to understand given the powerful contribution the company’s physical footprint had on its fourth quarter and full year sales and profit performance.

In a sign that omnichannel is becoming more important to Nike’s business, the vertical specialty athletic retailer has named Adam Sussman as its first chief digital officer.

Sussman will report to Trevor Edwards, president of Nike brand.

Prior to joining Nike, Sussman held multiple positions in the interactive gaming and entertainment industries, including EA Mobile and Disney Interactive. He has worked in areas including general management, marketing, strategic planning and digital product commercialization.

Lane Bryant is launching a new marketing campaign aimed at women who love the skin they're in and are confident with the bodies they have.

Lane Bryant's new This Body campaign serves as a declaration and an invitation to let the world understand how this plus size woman feels about her body. The idealized smaller size body type, which is constantly referenced as the norm in the media, is simply not realistic for the vast majority of female consumers, Lane Bryant says.

Shannon Greene, CFO of Tandy Leather Factory, was named interim CEO of the Fort Worth-based operator of more than 100 stores after CEO Jon Thompson resigned after more than two decades with the company.

Tractor Supply Company continues its rapid expansion, with the grand opening of its 1,500th store, on Feb. 13, in Odessa, Texas.

The retailer opened a total of 114 stores in 2015, and expects to open between 115 and 120 locations in 2016. Tractor Supply stores are located primarily in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities.
  

Fourth quarter sales at CVS Health surged 11% to $41.1 billion, enabling the operator of nearly 10,000 stores to surpass a significant annual sales milestone.

The company opened 53 new retail stores and acquired 1,672 pharmacies from Target to end the year with 9,655 retail stores, including pharmacies in Target stores, and annual sales of $153.3 billion, an increase of 10%.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced plans to add home retailer West Elm at Friendly Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, as part of a 12,700-sq.-ft. expansion project for the center. West Elm will occupy approximately 9,000 sq. ft. of the total expansion, which also includes Pieology Pizzeria and an additional soon-to-be-named retailer.

The new development will be located between Anthropologie and Whole Foods. Construction on the space is currently underway, and both West Elm and Pieology are scheduled to open fall 2016.