Footwear

Hibbett Sports has promoted Jared Briskin to SVP and chief merchant. Briskin replaces Rebecca Jones, who left the company this week.

Shoe Carnival is leveraging eBay Enterprise’s integrated technology and services to streamline its omnichannel operations, including retail order management, payments, fraud protection, ship-from-store and customer care.

eBay Enterprise’s modular solutions will provide the retailer with a secure engine to accept payments, drive down fraud rates and consolidate inventory across many of its stores to increase product assortment, while lowering fulfillment transit time and expense, according to the company.

Washington, D.C. -- President Barack Obama announced his intention to appoint Matthew Rubel to an additional term as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, a key Administration advisory post.   

Rubel is currently a senior advisor at TPG Capital.  Previously, he was chairman, president and CEO of Collective Brands, from 2005 to 2011. Rubel was CEO of Cole Haan from 1999 to 2005.

H&M’s new Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan is the fast-fashion giant’s largest store in the world, a whopping 57,000 sq. ft. — the size of a football field.

The interior is bright and buzzing with energy. Just inside the entry, mannequins are arranged on a tiered staircase display, echoing a fashion-show runway.

Beyond its sheer size, the store is a standout for a number of reasons.

Rack Room Shoes builds mobile loyalty program from ground up

New York -- DSW Inc. is opening new stores in Watertown, New York, and Louisville, Kentucky, on Oct. 2. The Watertown store will be located in the Salmon Run Mall and the Louisville store will be located across from St. Matthew’s Mall.

DSW offers other features including the DSW Rewards loyalty program and the Shoe Lovers community on Facebook.

Despite posting increases in consolidated net and comparable store sales, the Finish Line’s second-quarter results fell short of its expectations, thanks to softness in the specialty retailer’s basketball offering.

Despite the slowdown in basketball-related sales, the running-related sales increased in the mid-single digits, driven by casual and performance styles. Consolidated net sales were $466.9 million, an increase of 7.1% over the prior year period. Comparable store sales increased 1.5%.

Dublin, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores Inc. will open its first store in Oklahoma, on Sept. 27. The store is located in the Windsor Hills Center in Oklahoma City.  

Including this new location, DD’s Discounts will operate more than 150 locations in 15 states and is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014.

New York -- L.L. Bean plans to open a 29,000-sq.-ft. store in Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, the Star-Tribune reported. It will be the Freeport, Maine-based retailer’s first ever location west of the Mississippi River.

The store will be an anchor tenant in the mall, taking over a former Bloomingdale’s location, the report said.