Footwear

Footaction opened the doors to its newest flagship store — its first outside of the United States.   The store, which is located in the Toronto Eaton Centre in Canada, features 6,500 square-feet of premium retail space. Presenting a unique layout, the new Footaction store is organized largely by brand, rather than by product category — a move that enhances the customer shopping experience.   

Coach Inc. has tapped a 26-year fashion veteran to lead the company as its expands its brand portfolio.   Joshua Schulman has been named president and CEO of the Coach brand, effective June 5. In this newly created role, Schulman will be responsible for all aspects of the brand globally, reporting directly to Victor Luis, CEO of Coach, Inc. This new leadership structure follows the 2015 acquisition of Stuart Weitzman, and is an important step in Coach, Inc.’s evolution as a customer-focused, multi-brand organization, the retailer said.

Payless ShoeSource filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid growing competition from off-price retailers and online.

The retailer, which has some  4,400 locations in more than 30 countries, plans to immediately close nearly 400 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico as it attempts to boost its balance sheet and restructure its debt load.

The Jet Anywhere rewards program is preparing for its final descent.   As of May 1, Jet.com is pulling the plug on a program that rewards consumers for shopping on its retail portal. As shoppers enter the Jet Anywhere e-commerce portal, they can click through and shop at more than 600 retail partners, including Foot Locker, Land’s End, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdales, among others.   

South Moon Under is on the move. The on-trend fashion retailer, which carries a variety of contemporary brands, will open its first stores in the South in April, with locations at Ponce City Market, Atlanta, and Avalon, Alpharetta, Georgia. In the fall, the company will open a store at Shops Around Lenox, Atlanta.

South Moon Under is on the move.   The on-trend fashion retailer, which carries a variety of contemporary brands, will open its first stores in the South in April, with locations at Ponce City Market, Atlanta, and Avalon, Alpharetta, Georgia. In the fall, the company will open a store at Shops Around Lenox, Atlanta.    

The Frye Company’s first location in Colorado took top honors as Store of the Year in the 2017 Shop! store design competition.   

Trusted national news sources such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times continue to augur the fall the mall, but many American towns won’t give them up without a fight.   One such is Racine, Wisconsin, whose City Plan Commission advanced a scheme to revitalize the failing Regency Mall by forming a tax increment district (TID) around the 134-acre site that includes out-lots housing Target, Home Depot, Toys R Us, and the High Ridge Center.  

Shop!, the global non-profit trade association dedicated to enhancing retail environments and experiences, has announced the winners of its 46th year annual store design competition, and a specialty store took top honors.    

On March 7, Edward Stack, CEO and chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods, announced the company is dropping 20% of its brand offerings. This news is part of a larger redirection for the sporting goods retailer, one designed to optimize its inventory for increased sales.