Old Navy, LLC

For the fourth consecutive year, a department store has nabbed the top spot in a survey of the nation’s favorite fashion retailers.

Nordstrom took the top spot in the study, by Market Force Information. Interestingly, several discount retailers moved up the list this year, with Marshalls landing in the No. 2 spot. H&M and Ross Dress for Less tied for third, Kohl’s was fourth and Macy’s was fifth.

Old Navy, the division that has been performing the best for Gap Inc. for years, suffered a serious sales slump in the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Gap Inc.’s net sales were $4.39 billion compared with $4.71 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Same-store sales at Gap Inc. were down 7% versus positive 2% last year. Same-store sales by global brand for the fourth quarter were as follows:

• Gap Global: negative 3% versus negative 6% last year

In what was arguably one of the strangest holiday season in recent memory – for a variety of reasons – retailers have reported a variety of results ranging from impressive to outright awful.

Female executives take leading roles in retail IT arena

If a “leader” is someone who knows how to take charge, achieve goals and inspire others along the way — even in the most trying of circumstances — then the women featured in this special section are leaders in every sense of the word. They have toiled and proved their mettle — and smarts — in a field that traditionally has not been all that female-friendly: technology.

The Ferris Wheel in the Toys “R” Us’ Times Square flagship has had its last go round.

The 110,000-sq.-ft., four- level megastore shut its doors forever at 6 p.m., Wednesday, December 30, 2015.

Toys “R” Us Times Square opened in fall 2001, complete with a 60-ft.-tall Ferris wheel, a life-sized Barbie dream house, a giant animatronic T-Rex and other attention-getting attractions.

The retailer, which opted not to renew its pricey Times Square lease, is looking for another location in Manhattan.

Vineland, N.J. -- PREIT announced its plans to open a Dick's Sporting Goods at Cumberland Mall in Vineland, New Jersey. The sports and fitness retailer will occupy the former J.C. Penney Department Store space in a 50,000 sq. ft. location.

“This transaction demonstrates PREIT's continued success in replacing anchors with in-demand retailers,” states Joseph F. Coradino, CEO for PREIT "The addition of Dick's Sporting Goods will improve the merchandise mix and solidify the tenant roster at Cumberland Mall.”

Over the past 15 years or so, fast-fashion has evolved from a trend to a phenomenon to an industry standard — one that has largely redefined the U.S. apparel retailing landscape.

From home-grown Forever 21 to Swedish import H&M, the market is awash in stores offering cheap, on-trend clothes at low prices. And now another import has entered the mix, Primark, which opened its first U.S. store in September, in Boston, the first of eight initial locations.

A steep profit decline and deteriorating sales at two of Gap Inc.’s three flagship formats in the third quarter have CEO Art Peck looking ahead to what he expects to be better times.