Retail

Boston -- Springboard Retail, a cloud POS and retail management platform, announced that casual chic lifestyle brand XCVI chose Springboard Retail to accelerate sales, profits and customer engagement as they continue to expand stores throughout the Western U.S.

New York -- New York and Los Angeles may be the largest U.S. markets in terms of apparel sales, but online and smaller markets such as Orlando, Florida, and Washington, D.C., are the top markets driving both growth rate and dollar volume increases for the industry, according to global information company The NPD Group.  

Both Orlando and Washington had strong performance across in-store and online channels.

Baltimore -- Pandora Jewelry, in collaboration with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, has opened dedicated shops within two Disney merchandise locations: Uptown Jewelers in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and La Mascarade d'Orleans in Disneyland park in California.

Both locations carry Pandora’s newly released spring 2015 Disney jewelry collection and the Disney Parks collection, as well as the brand’s full assortment of jewelry.

In an article that appeared in National Real Estate Investor (NREI) Online on April 10, author Elaine Misonzhnik describes the recent store closure announcements from Walgreens and Pier 1 as part of a larger pattern of retailers “pursuing portfolio optimization and an omnichannel approach.” While I generally agree with that statement — and with the notion that increasing pressure from online sales growth is contributing to a more competitive brick-and-mortar environment — I was reminded once again of just how different the dynamics behind store closings can be.

New York -- Simply Fashion Stores Ltd. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and announced plans to liquidate nearly all of its assets. In its filing, it noted that the “exact plan” for the future of the company is still being refined.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based urban fashion retailer, which caters mostly to African-American women, operates some 250 stores in 25 states.

New York -- Target Corp. is responding to customers frustrated by their inability to buy items from the chain’s Lilly Pulitzer collection. The limited-edition line went live in the stores and online Sunday morning, with most of the items selling out within minutes.

Greensboro, N.C. -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers and Foxwoods Resort Casino announced that Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods will celebrate the new center's grand opening on Thursday, May 21 kicking off at 10 a.m. with an official ribbon cutting hosted by Drew and Jonathan from the hit show, Property Brothers. The festivities will include a design workshop with the Property Brothers, an Instagram Tech Lounge, as well as special savings and giveaways.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- HSN, Inc. has appointed John Aylward as executive VP and chief marketing officer for HSN, an operating division of the $3.6 billion interactive multichannel retailer.