Events

New York -- H & M, Hennes & Mauritz AB opens its first Hawaii store in Waikiki on March 28. The store features a one-of-a-kind installation featuring artwork of local surf photographers Mike Coots, Sarah Lee and Zak Noyle.

The Waikiki store has hired 160 local employees.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. opens three new stores April 3. The stores will be located in Reading, Pa., Olympia, Wash., and White Plains, N.Y.

DSW Rewards is a free loyalty program in which customers earn certificates toward future DSW purchases and receive special member-only offers. Customers can also participate in a Shoe Lover community on Facebook.

A central theme of the Oracle Industry Connect conference, held in Boston March 25-26, was “Commerce Anywhere,” or the new customer experience paradigm that requires enabling the consumer to purchase products how they want, when they want and to do so in a connected, nearly seamless fashion. IT also entails delivering targeted assortments, making inventory transparent and accessible to customers and employees in real-time, and integrating the systems supporting retail operations.

Julie Eddleman, Erik Keptner and Andy Murray are the newest inductees into the Path to Purchase Institute’s Hall of Fame which recognizes industry leaders for their contributions to the field of shopper marketing.

Eddleman, marketing director of North American brands at Procter & Gamble, Keptner, EVP of marketing at Ahold, and Murrary, SVP of creative at Walmart were recognized at a gala event held in conjunction with the Institute’s annual Shopper Marketing Summit in Chicago.

San Francisco — CBRE has introduced AIG Global Real Estate to Associated Estates Realty Corp. The two companies have formed a 50:50 joint venture partnership to develop a 3.36-acre mixed-use project at 8th and Harrison in San Francisco, Calif. The project will be known as 350 Eighth.

Located in the South of Market or SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, 350 Eighth will consist of 410 rental apartment homes and 40,000 sq. ft. of office and retail space. Site work has begun and first occupancy is scheduled for fourth quarter 2015.

Baltimore — Jamba Juice, The Fudgery and Majestic Athletic have signed with Ballpark Village in St. Louis.

Ballpark Village is a mixed-use retail, entertainment, office, and residential district being developed in partnership by the St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Companies.

The ability to integrate more data from more sources faster than ever to accelerate decision-making forms the core value proposition of an the new SAS Customer Intelligence solution unveiled this week at the software company’s Global Forum.
 

I recently attended the 2014 SPECS (Store Planning, Equipment, Construction Services) conference in Grapevine, Texas, and came away with some fascinating food for thought. The event, which is produced by Chain Store Age, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.