Apparel

With the advent of social media came an outburst of sharing content, expressing opinions and increasing expectations. And in an industry where brands and fashion houses were once responsible for creating trends, consumers are now taking the reins. They’re turning to social channels to chat with other shoppers and share likes, dislikes and the next best thing – which is often changing as fast as the social conversation.

Menlo Park, Calif. - Same-day delivery company Deliv has acquired WeDeliver, a Chicago-based delivery service that powers same-day delivery for local retailers. Launched in early 2013, WeDeliver provides same-day delivery services for more than 200 retailers in the Chicago area

Retail consulting firm McMillanDoolittle has posted an interesting blog on Gap Inc.’s ongoing efforts to turnaround its troubled namesake brand. Here is the full posting:

While 2014 was rocky for a great many retailers, with several thousand store closings across most categories of retail, the first half of 2015 has seen some encouraging signs of a modest resurgence in certain retail sectors and from select brands. The higher numbers of store closings are far from over, and it would not be accurate to refer to 2015 as a total turnaround, but it does seem noteworthy that there are significant categories of retail that have aggressively moved to capitalize on opportunities.

The recent admission by Mickey Drexler to making “mistakes” while explaining the results of two J.Crew sweaters – one successful, one not – shined a bright light on the importance of each new product decision and the consequences of getting it wrong. In the grand scheme of things, one or two bad decisions do not always make or break a company. But when you string multiple bad decisions together, the stakes are much higher.

Much of the retail industry’s annual costs in returns can be prevented, according to a new survey.

Franklin, Tenn. - Much of the retail industry’s $642.6 billion in annual returns worldwide ($246.3 billion in North America) can be prevented.

That’s according to a new research report from retail analyst firm IHL Group, commissioned by OrderDynamics, “Retailers and the Ghost Economy: The Haunting of Returns,” which finds that quality problems/product defects are the leading cause of retail returns.

Chicago - Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Randhurst Village in the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect. Tarrytown, New York-based DLC Management Corp. purchased the 1,009,937-sq.-ft. regional power and lifestyle center.

Randhurst Village national tenants include Costco, Home Depot, Jewel-Osco, AMC Theaters, Carson Pirie Scott, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sports Authority, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, PetSmart and World Market.