Jewelry

Online fine jeweler Blue Nile is set to open its first physical location outside of New York City in an ongoing effort to reimagine the jewelry buying experience.

Seattle-based Blue Nile said it would open a store at Tysons Corner Center mall in Fairfax County, Virginia by mid-summer as part of a strategy to open four locations this year.

Leading off price apparel retailer Ross Stores is feeling the “Bern,” and named long time merchant Bernie Brautigan to the role of president of merchandising.

Brautigan previously served as Ross Stores’ group executive vice president of merchandising since 2014. He will continue to report to Ross CEO Barbara Rentler in his new role and be responsible for the ladies apparel businesses, children's, shoes, and accessories.

Leading online jeweler Blue Nile is set to open its first physical location outside of New York City in an ongoing effort to reimagine the jewelry buying experience.

Charming Charlie is expanding its Middle East footprint.

The specialty retailer has opened its first location in Qatar, at the Ezdan Mall in Doha. The 2,900-sq.-ft. store is operated by Apparel Group, Charming Charlie’s international licensing partner, which has further growth planned for the brand in the Middle East this year.

Signet Jewelers attracted large numbers of Christmas shoppers over the fourth quarter as the parent company of Zales, Kay and Jared posted a jump in same-store sales.

The world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry reported that for the period ended Jan. 30, same-store sales increased 4.9%. Diluted earnings per share grew over 20%. Adjusted EPS increased over 18% and ahead of the guided range.

Specialty jewelry retailer Pandora found that combining a leading-edge marketing technique with a tried-and-true advertising format paid dividends during the recent holiday season.

From November 2015 – January 2016, Pandora leveraged the mobile network from location-based marketing provider Outfront Mediato drive traffic to four Miami-area stores. Pandora’s omnichannel approach included nine billboards in Miami, as well as a geo-fencing area that consisted of a five-mile radius around nine local out-of-home assets owned by Outfront Media.

Shirley, N.Y. -- Heidenberg Properties announced that its Southport Shopping Center, located in Shirley, New York, marks its 25th anniversary. The center is 100% leased, anchored by Marshalls, Petland and Kohl's.

The center first opened to the public in 1990 with original anchors Caldor and Waldbaum's. Over the years, the retail mix has evolved and the center has expanded from 207,000 to 299,000 sq. ft. The first major expansion was the addition of a 33,000 square foot Sears Hardware in 1998.

Charming Charlie wants to make sure Web customers get the same attentive service as shoppers at its 350-plus stores.

To that end, the jewelry and accessories retailer has deployed the Yottaa ContextIntelligence cloud-based application acceleration and security platform to optimize, accelerate, and secure its online retail environment. The platform is being leveraged alongside Magento Enterprise.

The Retail Design Institute has revealed the finalists for its 45th Annual International Store Design Awards Program.

All the awards, including the highly anticipated Store of the Year Award, will be revealed, and bestowed on the honorees, at the Institute’s annual Awards Gala on March 12, 2016, at the Hilton Anatole, Dallas. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

Here are the finalists (in alphabetical order):