Apparel

New York – Vertical specialty apparel retailer Ugg for Men is launching a global omnichannel advertising campaign in partnership with NFL quarterback Tom Brady. The campaign, “This is Ugg,” launches Sept. 2 and features a series of three 60-second video spots that will air on YouTube and TV.

The campaign will also feature a concurrent print component. Los Angeles-based M&C Saatchi served as creative agency.

Hingham, Mass. - Talbots has selected Mi9 BI, Mi9 Merchant, and Sales Audit solutions with loss prevention software products to replace its existing core merchandising and inventory management systems. Talbots needed technology to help streamline the merchandising process, including the re-classifying of product hierarchy and centrally managing inventory across all channels.

Oak Brook, Ill. - Eastwood Towne Center has signed J.Jill, who selected Eastwood Towne Center as their only location in Central Michigan. This follows on the heels of recent opening announcements by Apple, Sephora, Gymboree and a newly expanded Forever 21, also exclusive to Eastwood in Central Michigan.

The 3,600-sq.-ft. J. Jill store will be located next to Express and American Eagle. J.Jill is expected to open in the late fall.

Cincinnati -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Buttermilk Towne Center in Crescent Springs (Cincinnati MSA), Kentucky. The 277,533-sq.-ft. center was purchased by Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust for $42 million.

Anaheim, Calif. -- Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $7.5 million, in line with Wall Street estimates, compared to net loss of $19.2 million in the year ago period, helped by improved sales in its men’s division. But the teen apparel retailer forecast a wider-than-expected loss for the current quarter.


The company posted revenue of $211.7 million in the period, better than expected, up from million from $210.1 million last year.

Chicago -- Men’s lifestyle retailer Haberdash will unveil a new retail "Convergence" concept at its store at the Roosevelt Collection in Chicago's South Loop.

The "Convergence" model integrates the company's daily e-commerce operations into the store location; photo studio, pick, pack and ship and client services.

Nordstrom Inc. has become the first retailer to launch the Like2Buy platform, which allows Nordstrom.com customers to directly purchase items featured on the retailer’s Instagram page. The commerce-enablement of visually oriented social platforms, such as Instagram, Pinterest and Vine, is an inevitable development as social media becomes more focused on photos and videos and less on text. The preference most Millennials have for visually oriented social media reinforces the value that commerce enabling these platforms has for retailers.

Improved sales in Pacific Sunwear’s men’s division helped bolster the company’s earnings for the second quarter ended Aug. 2.

The company reported earnings of $7.5 million for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $19.2 million in the year-ago period. Comparable store sales inched up 0.3%.

Revenue for the quarter was a better-than-expected $211.7 million, up from $210.1 million last year.

Online sales at regional department store operator Belk grew 43% during the second quarter, prompting the company to announce a major investment in its e-commerce and fulfillment capabilities.

St. Louis – Brown Shoe Company increased net income 17% to $18.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, from $15.4 million in the same period the prior year. Net sales rose 2% to $635.9 million from $621.7 million, while same-store sales at its primary Famous Footwear brand climbed 1.6%.

Brown Shoe credited back-to-school sales at Famous Footwear, supported by a strong omnichannel customer experience, as helping to drive second quarter results. Brown expects positive same-store sales growth at Famous Footwear in the third quarter.