News Briefs

Little Words Project’s newest retail store will be in a big location.

The bracelet brand, which was founded in 2013 to spread wearable positive messages, is opening its 11th brick-and-mortar store at Mall of America on Dec. 2. At the new 1,078-sq.-ft. store, customers can shop an assortment of the Little Words Project’s pre-designed bracelets, demi-fine collection, Little Layers, and experience the brand’s signature beading table, a custom activation where visitors can create their own pieces by appointment. 

“Best known for its commitment to kindness and self-love, Little Words Project has created an incredible community around one singular product - the beaded word bracelet - a style that’s seen a massive revival in the pop culture zeitgeist,” said the company. “Each bracelet is meant to be worn, loved, then passed along to someone else in need. With a loyal following and slew of celebrity fans, Little Words Project has garnered national attention and has been worn by millions.”

Little Words Project opened its flagship location on Bleecker Street in Manhattan’s West Village and has since opened more stores nationwide, with locations in Miami, Boston and Austin. THe brand said it is looking to expand its store count in 2024.

At 5.6 million square feet, Mall of America is the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America with more than 520 world-class retail stores and restaurants, in addition to entertainment.

Delivery platform DoorDash has added an electronics retail giant to its platform just in time for the holiday season.

Best Buy is the first national consumer electronics retailer available on the DoorDash marketplace, with all locations nationwide available to order from. Best Buy’s inventory of electronics, including TVs, video games, speakers, accessories and more are now available to browse and have delivered same-day with DoorDash.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Best Buy to DoorDash as our first national consumer electronics retailer on the marketplace,” said Fuad Hannon, VP of new verticals at DoorDash. “This partnership provides consumers access to Best Buy’s diverse selection of specialty consumer electronics with the speed and convenience of DoorDash. With the holiday season around the corner, this is a valuable occasion for consumers to shop for tech gifts for everyone on their list and experience the joy of shopping at Best Buy directly on the DoorDash app."

To celebrate the new partnership, now through Dec. 5, consumers can get $15 off Best Buy orders of $55+ using code BEST15, and DashPass members with an active DashPass account can get $25 off Best Buy orders of $55+ using code BEST25. 

The deals are part of “Deck the Doorstep,” DoorDash’s annual holiday savings event that offers users limited-time discounts, daily deals and exclusive DashPass offers. The event, spanning Dec.1-12, offers a variety of discounts from a wide range of retailers and restaurants, including Aldi, CVS, Dick’s Sporting Goods, KFC, Petco, Sprouts Farmers Market, Wendy’s and more.

Canadian department retailer Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) has appointed a familiar face as its newest president and CEO.

Retail veteran Liz Rodbell is returning to the company in the two positions, effective Dec. 1, 2023. Rodbell served as president of Hudson’s Bay from 2013-2017, and served as chief merchant before being promoted.

Sophia Hwang-Judiesch is stepping down from her role as president of Hudson's Bay to pursue another opportunity.

"I am absolutely thrilled to rejoin Hudson's Bay. My focus, first and foremost, is on the customer - ensuring we have the most relevant assortment, strong brand partners, and an overall experience that is inspiring and relevant to our shoppers," said Rodbell.

After departing from Hudson’s Bay in 2017, Rodbell held several roles, including group president at footwear brand Steve Madden. Other positions include vice chair of the board of directors at Children’s Tumor Foundation, chair of the board at Parsons School of Design, and principal advisor at LHR Advisors.

"I am delighted to welcome Liz back to the HBC family, and I am certain she will drive the continued transformation of Hudson's Bay to deliver the most exciting shopping experience for Canadian customers." said Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of HBC. "When she was last with the company, Liz drove 22% sales growth for Hudson's Bay.”

Additionally, Michael Culhane has been appointed COO and CFO of Hudson's Bay, reporting to Rodbell. Culhane has served as the CFO of the HBC LP since 2020.

Hudson’s Bay operates 84 stores across Canada where fashion, home, beauty and food products are sold.

A veteran executive with 25 years of experience in entertainment, media and sports industries will head up marketing at Macy’s Inc.'s namesake banner. 

The department store giant has appointed Sharon Otterman as chief marketing officer of Macy’s, effective Dec. 11.  She will report to Tony Spring, president and CEO-elect, Macy’s Inc., who is scheduled to succeed Jeff Gennette when he retires in February. 

Most recently, Otterman served as chief marketing officer of Caesars Entertainment, where she launched Caesars Sportsbook, a new sports betting brand in the U.S., and enhanced the sports betting and gaming brand experience. 

Prior to Caesars Entertainment, Otterman served as executive VP and chief marketing officer at Madison Square Garden Company (from 2015 to 2018). Before that, she was chief marketing officer for NBCUniversal’s News Division (from 2009 to 2015). From 2003 to 2009, Otterman was the VP of marketing at ESPN (from 2003 to 2009). 

In her new role at Macy’s, Otterman will lead  strategic marketing, spearheading the company's brand evolution and building awareness, engagement and loyalty among customers. This includes brand activation, campaign advertising and content planning, creative, visual merchandising, branded entertainment, and media strategy for the Macy’s brand.

 She also will be responsible for leading and building upon Macy’s signature experiences, including the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Macy’s July 4 fireworks and annual Spring Flower Show.

“Sharon brings a diverse background in media, entertainment, and digital transformation to Macy’s,” said Spring. We are excited to leverage her expertise to bring more retail theater across our shopping experiences. She is a passionate strategist and has a successful track record of evolving brands, developing creative marketing campaigns, and driving profitable growth.”

The Container Store continues to grow its small-format store concept.

The home storage and organization products retailer has opened its 100^th store, at The Square at West Windsor, in Princeton, N.J.  The 15,000-sq.-ft. outpost is Container Store’s sixth location in New Jersey. 

The opening is in line with the retailer’s plans, announced in August, to open six new small format stores in fiscal 2023, with an additional three planned for the first quarter of 2024.  The Container Store debuted its small format concept  in September 2022, at The Promenade Shops at Briargate, in Colorado Springs, Col.

 The 220,000-sq.-ft. The Square at West Windsor is owned by Garden Commercial.  Earlier this year, a 3,000-sq.-ft. Starbucks — complete with a café,  drive-thru lane, conference room and outdoor seating patio — opened at the center, which is anchored by Lowe’s and Trader Joe’s.

“The Container Store is a strong, nationally recognized brand and a terrific traffic generator,” said Michael Gartenberg, director of Garden Commercial. “It is gratifying to celebrate this store’s much-anticipated opening at The Square at West Windsor. The Container Store is a wonderful addition that is sure to be well received by the community.” 

 Garden Commercial said it is marketing one remaining, 5,300-sq.-ft. divisible space at The Square at West Windsor.  

"The Square at West Windsor’s position as a ‘go-to’ retail destination that attracts best-in-class tenants is well established,” said Garden Commercial’s Jonathan Frieder, managing partner. “This legacy continues in a significant way with the openings of our two newest tenants, The Container Store and Starbucks.”

Based in Short Hills, N.J., Garden Commercial owns and manages in excess of 25 million square feet of retail and office space.

New research has revealed the fastest-loading online shopping sites in the U.S.

According to a recent study by web design company DigitalSilk.com analyzing data from Google’s Pageview Analytics tool, the Ikea U.S. online shopping site is the fastest to load on average with load time of 1.5 seconds on mobile and one second to load in full when browsing on desktop. This comes out to an average of 1.25 seconds, 0.25 seconds faster than any other site in the study.

Coming in second place on the list is the U.S. shopping site of U.K.-based fashion retailer Asos. The Asos site loads in an average of 1.8 seconds on mobile and 1.2 seconds on desktop, with an overall average load time of 1.5 seconds.

 Third place goes to Amazon, with an average load time of 1.6 seconds, which is made up of an average load time of 1.6 seconds on both mobile and desktop devices.

 Following closely behind in fourth place is the U.S. shopping site of French beauty retailer Sephora. The Sephora site sees an average load time of 1.8 seconds on mobile and 1.5 seconds on desktop, coming out to an overall average of 1.65 seconds.

Rounding out the top five is e-commerce retailer eBay. The U.S. eBay site takes an average time to fully load of 1.8 seconds on mobile and 1.7 seconds on desktop, coming out to an overall average of 1.75 seconds.

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