Retail

New York — Xcel Brands has announced the opening of the Isaac Mizrahi New York store in Woodstock, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. The 2,000-sq.-ft. shop will open on March 29.

Xcel Brands acquires, designs, licenses and markets consumer brands through an omnichannel sales strategy that includes interactive media, digital and brick-and-mortar retail. In 2011, the company acquired the Isaac Mizrahi New York designer apparel brand and an interest in Liz Claiborne

The Hertz Corp. and Costco in the U.K. have teamed up to bring short-term Hertz 24/7 van rental to Costco's members.

The self-drive service operates at all 25 Costco warehouses in the U.K. Costco's members can hire a van from the warehouse car parks to drive their purchased items home immediately.

Chicago — Heinen’s Fine Foods has leased a 61,965 sq. ft. anchor location at the Bannockburn Green community center in Bannockburn, Ill., according to CBRE, which assisted in the lease negotiations.

The 151,206-sq.-ft. center serves Deerfield, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Lincolnshire and Bannockburn. The center’s retail lineup includes Walgreen’s, Erehwon Mountain Outfitters, Sleepy’s, Panera Bread and GNC.

A new concept from Jockey International, Jockey Bra offers shoppers an innovative shopping experience. The 1,170-sq.-ft. store, at Woodfield Mall, showcases Jockey’s revolutionary “volumetric” fitting system, which is designed to eliminate the frustrations associated with traditional bra shopping.  

A week after rival Home Depot announced plans to 80,000 seasonal spring employees, Lowe’s announced its plans to hire approximately 25,000 seasonal employees at its U.S. stores for the busy spring season.

Seasonal jobs available are focused on customer support and include cashiers, lawn and garden employees, loaders and stockers.

Clinton Township, Mich. — The Mall at Partridge Creek, in the Detroit, metropolitan region, has named Melissa Morang marketing and sponsorship director. Morang will develop public programs, events and community relations for the center.

Morang returns to metro Detroit after spending the past year in the Grand Rapids area working in Meijer’s corporate office on marketing strategies for the retailers soft lines division.

Kirkland, Wash. – Digital coupon provider VisibleBrands has added former Procter & Gamble VP Jan Murley to its board of directors, while former Safeway Stores board member Rebecca Stirn was added to the company’s advisory council.

Murley was a 23-year marketing veteran with Procter and Gamble and was the VP of its skin care division. Stirn was on Safeway’s board of directors from 1999 to 2010. She has more than two decades of executive marketing experience with a variety of industries.

Ace Hardware’s unique value proposition allowed it to withstand strong competition from Home Depot and Lowe’s in 2013 and grow annual sales by a 8.2% to a record $4.2 billion.

“We outperformed our operating plan, exceeding $4 billion in consolidated revenues and $100 million in net income for the first time in our history,” said president and CEO John Venhuizen.

Net income was $104.5 million for fiscal 2013, an increase of $22.7 million, or 27.8%, compared with $81.8 million in fiscal 2012.