Apparel

New York – Shoppers spent $50.17 billion online during the 2014 back-to-school shopping season, which represents a 16% gain from $43.26 billion in the year-ago period, according to eMarketer. Online commerce during the months of July and August — the main months for back-to-school shopping — accounted for approximately one-sixth of retail ecommerce sales for the year, according to eMarketer estimates, as well as 70.5% of retail ecommerce sales in third quarter 2014.

San Francisco – August 2014 sales results indicate the 2014 back-to-school period had a significant boost to shopping activity. According to new data from in-store retail analytics provider Euclid, traffic increased substantially compared to the previous month, aided by temperate weather and multi-year highs in consumer confidence.

New York -- Tiffany & Co. announced that it has named Jill Beraud as an executive VP, effective Oct. 13. She will have responsibility for global retail operations including all sales channels in every region, as well as oversight of strategic store development and real estate.

Beraud will report to Frederic Cumenal, president, who, as previously announced, will become Tiffany’s CEO effective April 1, 2015.

Beraud, 54, joins Tiffany from Living Proof where she has been CEO since 2011.

Nashville, Tenn. - Genesco Inc. recently extended its relationship with EarthLink, with future plans to use the network in new ways to enhance the customer shopping experience. A longtime EarthLink customer, Genesco relies on a private EarthLink MPLS network to run all in-store point-of-sale, inventory management and employee communications and training in its Johnston & Murphy, Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Underground by Journeys and Shï by Journeys stores.

Seattle – The board of directors of Nordstrom Inc. has authorized a repurchase program of up to $1 billion of the company’s outstanding common stock, through March 1, 2016. Nordstrom intends to fund the repurchase program from existing cash on hand.

Dallas -- CBRE’s National Retail Investment Group announced the sale of Centennial Plaza, a 233,797-sq.-ft. power center in Oklahoma City, on behalf of Kimco Realty Corp., to American Realty Capital-Retail Centers of America.

Centennial Plaza, at 100% occupancy, is tenanted by Home Depot, Best Buy, Gordmans and Guitar Center. Home Depot’s Centennial Plaza location is the retailer’s first and only urban location in the city.
 

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. announced the addition of Nordstrom Rack to The Shops at Midtown Miami, a 98% leased, 645,000-sq.-ft. urban, value-oriented power center in Miami.

DDR created space for Nordstrom Rack through its Project Accelerate initiative announced in May of 2014, whereby DDR is recapturing below-market leases from underperforming anchor tenants and backfilling these locations with best-in-class retailers.

Commack, N.Y. -- Stein Mart is set to join the tenant mix at Mayfair Shopping Center in Commack, New York, leasing 30,800 sq. ft., according to Levin Management, exclusive leasing and managing agent for the property. 

Stein Mart is moving into the space formerly occupied by MJM Designer Shoes, which is relocating to a new 12,000-sq.-ft. space within the 221,000-sq.-ft. shopping center.

Chain Store Age makes no secret of the fact that we are a retail publication – and have been since 1925. Our readership is retail headquarters executives and our content is directed toward, and influenced by, that very group.

In the September 2014 issue, however, we looked at another group – one that is integrally involved with retailers and often determines the success of a single store or an entire market:  retail brokers.

By Joe Tichar, senior VP of corporate operations, DDR, Beachwood, Ohio

Forward-thinking retailers are increasingly leveraging their brick-and-mortar locations to establish omnichannel models that meet the growing consumer demand for a more convenient, more cost-effective and more personalized shopping experience.