Nordstrom

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- HSN announced Thursday that it has appointed Nordstrom chief marketing officer Anne Martin-Vachon as its new chief merchant.

Effective May 14, Martin-Vachon’s will assume the position of chief merchandising officer for the multichannel retailer, charged with overseeing HSN's merchandising and planning teams. She will report directly to Mindy Grossman, CEO.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN has named Anne Martin-Vachon chief merchandising officer, effective May 14. Martin-Vachon will oversee HSN's merchandising and planning teams and report directly to Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSNi.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc. revealed Thursday that it is leading a $16.4 million investment round in online men’s apparel brand Bonobos. The announcement follows last year’s purchase of online private sale site HauteLook, giving Nordstrom another leg up in the e-commerce arena.

Nordstrom is selling the Bonobos label's clothing at its stores and online. Bonobos is the largest apparel brand launched on the internet in the United States.

Bloomfield Hills, Mich. -- Taubman Centers on Thursday announced the opening of City Creek Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Thousands of visitors attended the grand opening of the only regional shopping center to open in the United States this year. 

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, City Creek Center is the first enclosed regional shopping center to open in the United States in six years.

Seattle -- A report by Bloomberg said that Nordstrom Inc. will introduce an ongoing free shipping program for all purchases made at its department stores starting next week.

The program was unveiled just months after Nordstrom introduced standard free shipping and returns on its online orders. It was the first department store chain to do so.

By Ken Burkeen, [email protected]

Nordstrom’s transition from a retailer best known as an operator of upscale department stores to an off-price discounter is poised to continue in 2012 as expansion plans for Rack outlet stores outpace those of full line Nordstrom stores.

Seattle -- Nordstrom reported Thursday that net earnings for the quarter ended Jan. 28 rose 1.7% to $236 million, compared with $232 million in the year-ago period.

Sales rose 12.5 % to $3.17 billion, and same-store sales increased 7.1%. Nordstrom Rack sales rose 17.7% in the quarter, to $85 million.

For the full year, total net sales were $10.5 billion, representing the highest in the company’s history. Net earnings were up 11.4% to $683 million, compared with $613 million a year earlier.