Strategy

ModCloth is going on tour this summer.

The online apparel retailer known for its indie and vintage-inspired styles is launching the “ModCloth IRL (in real life) Tour,” a series of five pop-up shops.

The IRL shops are modeled after ModCloth’s first-ever physical outpost, a pop-up in San Francisco. The store opened last July and is due to close March 26.

Fourth quarter profits at Stein Mart were cut in half as the company relied on heavy promotional activity to clear inventory and eke out a 1% same-store sales increase.

The CEO of Toys"R"Us says increases in same store sales and profit show that the company is on the right path toward strategic growth.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, the company earned $276 million, up from $265 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 2.6% to $4.9 billion. Same store sales increased 2.3%.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, to get her perspective on what’s going on in the rapidly growing online delivery space.

What is driving growing consumer interest in online delivery?
We’ve got a bunch of players in the industry who are aggregating inventory in a simple, flexible and cost-effective way for last-mile fulfillment. Companies like Amazon and Google are resetting customer expectations of what’s possible.

Ross Dress for Less has added three new locations to its growing portfolio.

The retailer opened two 25,000-sq.-ft. stores in Wisconsin on March 5, including one in Milwaukee, at the Point Loomis Shopping Center. The second store is in Oshkosh, at the Market Fair Shopping Center.

In addition, Ross opened a 30,000-sq.-ft. store in Fountain Valley, California, at the Costco Center. Including the new location, Ross now operates 276 stores in California, its largest state.

The company formerly known as Men’s Wearhouse plans to significantly reduce its physical presence this year by closing 250 stores, including more than 20% of the Jos. A. Bank stores acquired in 2014.

The major reduction is selling space by the company which changed its name to Tailored Brands earlier this year was announced in conjunction with the release of weak fourth quarter results that were in line with previously released results, which showed Jos. A. Bank stores had 32% decline in same-store sales.

CVS Health on Thursday announced the launch of "Be The First," a five-year $50 million initiative to help deliver the nation's first tobacco-free generation.

Women’s apparel specialist Christopher & Banks saw its online sales surge in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep the company from posting an even bigger operating loss than it did the prior year.