Jewelry

New York -- Several apparel retailers, including Limited Brands, Zumiez and Ross Stores, posted better-than-expected sales in April. It was widely expected that an earlier Easter, which pushed demand into March, and cool weather would hurt sales.

Limited Brands, parent of Victoria’s Secret, reported a 7% rise in same-store sales for April, beating estimates.

Teen clothing retailer Zumiez also beat expectations with a 10.1% gain in April. The Buckle’s same-stores sales edged up 1% slightly higher than analysts' estimates.

ARMONK, N.Y. — Mobile commerce increased more than 13% in the first quarter of 2012, according to IBM's first retail economic indicator, a cloud-based analytics report, which examines the state of the online retail sector.

The increase in mobile commerce sales, along with improved consumer attitudes toward the digital buying experience, indicate that consumers will be shopping more with their smartphones and other mobile devices in the near future.

Other highlights of the report include:
 

Pembroke Pines, Fla. -- Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group announces that two additional tenants have joined Cobblestone Plaza, located in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Great Clips will open a 1,066-sq.-ft. store and Michael’s Jewelry will open in a 1,400-sq.-ft. space.

The 140,452-sq.-ft. Cobblestone Plaza is newly anchored by Whole Foods, which opened March 28, joining All Pets Emporium and Party City. 

Armonk, N.Y. -- A report released Tuesday by IBM found that the U.S. online retail sector grew more than 6% in March 2012. This upswing in March closes a quarter in which online sales were down slightly from the same period in 2011.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Express has named Theo Killion has been appointed to its board of directors as a Class III director.  Killion is CEO and a director of Zale Corp.  

New York -- Liz Claiborne Inc. reported Thursday that it narrowed its loss in the first quarter to $60.6 million, compared with a $96.3 million loss in the year-ago period. Strong sales of the company’s Kate Spade and Lucky Brands goods strengthened the results.

Revenue for the period fell 4% to $317.1 million from $330.7 million, but beat Wall Street’s estimated $307.4 million in revenue.

New York -- London has reclaimed the number one position as the most targeted market for international retailers, according to a survey by global property adviser CBRE. It was followed by Dubai, New York City, Moscow and Paris.

Energy efficiency is one of the key benefits of using LED lighting. But there are plenty of other reasons to incorporate LEDs into retail stores, Sally Lee, applications marketing manager for Osram Sylvania, told attendees at the session, “Spotlight on LED: Getting the Dirt on Rare Earth Minerals.”

2014 marked progress in new development, particularly on the outlet front

After nearly a decade of stalled growth in the shopping center industry, 2014 finally saw progress being made on the new development front. While it’s true that much of the ground-up construction was of the outlet center ilk, the value sector wasn’t the only new-build push.