Strategy

New York -- Lululemon Athletica signed leases to open two new stores in the Soho section of downtown Manhattan, including its first-ever freestanding store for men, The Real Deal reported.

The men’s store will be located at 127 Prince Street. The women’s store will take space at 125 Prince Street.

Lululemon is on track to open some 45 locations this year.

Shopko plans to unveil the results of a partial store remodeling project in all of its 133 Shopko stores Sept. 18.

The remodel includes the removal of the stores' large glass jewelry cabinets to make shopping in the jewelry department more convenient and accessible to consumers. Customers will no longer have to wait for a store associate to unlock and remove jewelry items, but will be able to easily see, touch and try on jewelry pieces.

By David Ashen, dash design

Lately you can't turn on the television or pick up the newspaper without seeing a story about Millennials, also known as Generation Y. People are endlessly fascinated by their traits, values, work habits and shopping patterns. Why all of this focus on the group of people born between the early 1980's and 2000's?

Washington, D.C. -- Site and market challenges, underwriting challenges, and operational challenges are the key factors that hamper retail development in some lower-income communities, according to a report from the Urban Land Institute.

The report, Retail in Underserved Communities, defines underserved communities as those that fall into one or more of four categories: urban locations lacking businesses, underserviced markets, locations without cultural offerings, and isolated rural or small towns.

The nation’s largest wholesaler of retail returns, GENCO Marketplace, and marketing automation provider SnapRetail, have combined to bring new capabilities to those looking to efficiently and profitably liquidate merchandise.

The companies joined forces to offer new, easy-to-use online marketing tools to retailers and resellers within the $2.5 billion GENCO Marketplace who will receive special software pricing, access to free educational resources and one-on-one consultations from SnapRetail.

The Network of Executive Women (NEW) has confirmed retail executives from Walgreens, Home Depot, Family Dollar, Publix and Walmart as featured participants at the organization’s Leadership Summit this fall.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us and specialty retailer Claire’s have entered into a global partnership to open nearly 100 Claire’s in-store shops in Toys “R” Us locations across Europe, along with 12 U.S. locations, by year-end. The shops will feature an assortment of jewelry, headbands, hair and fashion accessories, jewelry holders, legwear, seasonal items and more. The rollout follows a successful pilot program in Europe.  

Chicago -- GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) announced it has significantly expanded its inventory financing program with MarineMax, and extended its duration through 2017.

The $235 million facility will allow the company to expand its stocking plans from leading manufacturers in the industry.