Marketing Tactics

Report: Lululemon testing new in-store features
Lululemon Athletica has opened its largest store yet, an 11,500-sq.-ft. flagship in Manhattan. The store includes such new features as a 3,000-sq.-ft. community gathering space, called Hub Seventeen, and concierge services, reports New York Business Journal. [New York Business Journal]
Modell’s Sporting Goods continues to expand
How busy is Times Square? Enough to support two Modell’s Sporting Goods stores.

The retailer is opening two new stores in the New York City metro area, including one at 136 West 42nd Street, its second Times Square location. Modell’s is also opening a store at Crossroads Plaza East in Rocky Point, New York.

The two new locations will expand the retailer’s portfolio to 155 stores in 10 states.

This could be the 'coolest' holiday window ever

Barneys New York is bringing an icy winter chill — literally — to its holiday windows.
New retail coming to the Streets of St. Charles

St. Charles, Mo. -- Cullinan Properties welcomes two new tenants to its mixed-use development Streets of St. Charles located in St. Charles, Missouri. MOD, a boutique specializing in affordable fashion for women of all age, will open its fourth location in spring 2016 on Beale Street and Supercuts is expected to open in early 2016.
Big changes help Target hit the bullseye in Q3

Marketing and merchandising changes at Target Corp. are paying off as the retailer reported better than expected traffic and sales in the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Nov. 1, Target reported a same-store sales increase of 1.9%. Net sales rose 2.1% to 17.6 billion.

Profit rose to $549 million, or 87 cents per share, up from $352 million, or 55 cents per share in the year-ago period. Not including one-time items, the company earned 86 cents per share, which was in line with Wall Street expectations.
Report: Urban Outfitters’ restaurant acquisition not too pricey

Urban Outfitters Inc. will spend less than $20 million on its acquisition of Vetri Family Restaurant group, which owns the well-regarded Pizzeria Vetri chain, Bloomberg reported. The acquisition comes as consumers are spending more on “experiences” rather than clothing. “We believe that we do experiences really well and know our customer very well, and we have a lot of history in growing brands organically,” Urban Outfitters CFO Frank Conforti told Bloomberg.
Check out the big chill at Barneys

Barneys New York is bringing an icy winter chill—literally—to its holiday windows.

With a theme of “Chillin’ Out,” the specialty retailer has transformed the windows of its Manhattan flagship into a winter wonderland, complete with 35-foot fully functioning ice locker that features daily live ice carving.
It will be all about Black Wednesday at RadioShack

RadioShack is moving Black Friday all the way over to Wednesday in the hopes of ramping up shopper excitement for the holiday.

The company issued a call to customers Tuesday saying that as a "thank you to our loyal customers (particularly those who don't like to get trampled at big box stores on Black Friday), RadioShack's Black Friday Sale will begin early on Wednesday, Nov. 25." RadioShack says stores will stay open an extra hour on Wednesday, will reopen at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and feature extended hours the rest of the weekend.
H-E-B Goes Beyond Products and Pricing to Connect With Customers

(The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.)

Scott McClelland seems an unlikely candidate for his picture to appear under a "Why Is This Man Smiling?" headline. As spokesperson and president of the Houston food/drug division of Texas-based grocery store chain H-E-B, McClelland has plenty of reasons to be worried.
The North Face continues in-store foray into virtual reality

Shoppers in select North Face stores will be able to experience winter in Nepal up close and personal.

The retailer, in collaboration with Jaunt Studios, a leading supplier of fully-immersive cinematic virtual reality experiences, is launching a new VR experience titled “The North Face: Nepal.” The content will be available for all smartphone users, and in the company’s stores in San Francisco, New York, and the brand’s new Regent Street location in London.
Video: Watch Build-a-Bear create float for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Off-price store to make New York City debut

The off-price wars are heating up in New York City.

Saks Fifth Avenue will open its first Saks Off 5th outlet in New York City, in a 32-story office tower at 125 East 57th Street, in March 2016. The store will feature a lobby entrance at street level, which will access two lower level floors.

“The addition of a new Saks Off 5th store at this strategic location will be a dramatic game changer for 57th Street retail east of Park Avenue,” said Charles S. Cohen, president and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corp., which owns the property.