Retail

Aeropostale has added Stefan Kaluzny, managing director at Sycamore Partners, and Julian Geiger, former director and CEO of Crumbs Bake Shop and former chairman and CEO of Aeropostale, to its board of directors.

Arthur Rubinfeld is also stepping down as a director of Aeropostale. In addition, the company's board of directors will nominate Kenneth Gilman, currently a director of Zale Corp. and Kate Spade & Co., for election as an independent director.

Pittsburgh -- Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday announced grand openings for three new stores.

The company will hold opening celebrations June 6 through June 8 for the following locations: Lawrence, Kansas; Culpepper, Virginia; Arden, North Carolina.

With the openings, Dick’s will operate 570 stores nationwide.

Stamps.com has integrated its USPS shipping with Shopify, a leading commerce platform that allows consumers to sell online or at their retail locations.

New York -- Starbucks Corp. plans to bring its La Boulange Bakery café chain to Los Angeles, opening a location with extensive food offerings. The eatery is scheduled to open June 11, and will also serve beer, wine, cocktails as well as milkshakes, the Associated Press reported.

I indulged in a shopping center grand opening on May 22 – and I’m glad I did.

Themed “Indulge,” the opening event marked the official unveiling of the nation’s first truly downtown outlet center, Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, located in the heart of New Orleans, and built by West Coast developer Howard Hughes Corp.

Napa, Calif. – Construction on a new 4,800-sq.-ft. retail space known as Solano Plaza could begin in Napa, California, as early as spring 2015. According to the Napa Valley Register, the single-story building will hold up to four new retailers and face an existing retail plaza.

The site was formerly occupied by a gas station and has been decontaminated. Gerry and Betsy D’Adamo, who have owned the parcel for 40 years, are developing the new plaza, which will include new landscaping and signage.
 

Milan, Italy – Luxottica is rolling out the SAP Fashion Management application. The retailer is implementing the solution with the goal of bringing wholesale and retail operations onto a single, vertical platform sharing the same master data, global inventory and processes.

AutoZone marked its 31st consecutive quarter of double digit earnings per share growth for the period ended May 10.

The company reported net sales of $2.3 billion for the quarter, an increase of 6.2% from the third quarter last year. Domestic same-store sales, or sales for stores open at least one year, increased 4% for the quarter.

Net income for the quarter increased $19.6 million, or 7.4%, over the same period last year to $285.2 million, while diluted earnings per share increased 16.4% to $8.46 per share from $7.27 per share in the year-ago quarter.