Apparel

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. announced the appointment of R. David Minnix, Jr., as senior VP and head of boutiques, effective  July 8.  

Designer shoemaker Stuart Weitzman has selected Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen to be the face of its fall advertising campaign.

Set to launch in the U.S., Europe and Asia, the advertising campaign will feature black-and-white photos of Bundchen shot by photographer Mario Testino, whose work has appeared in Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Francesca’s has tapped David Minnix Jr. as the new VP and head of boutiques. The former chief stores officer at Dots Fashion will start his job overseeing the upscale boutique chain’s operations on July 8.

Minnix has also formerly worked for retailers like Zales and Pearle Vision, and at Dots Fashion oversaw store support and loss prevention departments, among other duties. At Francesca’s Minnix will oversee the company’s 519 boutiques, each of which is meant to feel like an independent shop.

Nearly two months after opening up a specialty retail location in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, Under Armour has confirmed that it plans to open in March 2015 its latest Brand House at 600 North Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

DSW’s Affiliated Business Group (ABG) division and Yellow Box Corporation have partnered to open a Yellow Box concept store at The Falls Shopping Center in Miami, Florida, Friday, June 20.

Yellow Box plans to host a grand opening event with Lucky Magazine on the afternoon of Saturday, June 28. The company also plans to open two additional stores in Southern California at the Topanga  and Sherman Oaks shopping centers in August.

Yellow Box is a leading women's footwear wholesaler notable for jeweled sandals and fashion footwear for women.

Walmart added to its collection of Silicon Valley acquisitions with the purchase of mobile fashion app Stylr.

Toronto - Sears Canada Inc. has entered into a binding agreement with Concord Pacific Group of Companies to pursue the development of the 12-acre Sears site located at the North Hill Shopping Center in Calgary, Alberta. Closing under the agreement is conditional upon satisfaction of conditions such as site investigations and obtaining the approval from the city of Calgary for the project, which are expected to take some time.  

Houston - Elaine D. Crowley, 55, was appointed to the Stage Stores Inc. board of directors. Her appointment brings the board’s membership to 10 directors.

Chicago -- Chile is the number one destination for emerging market retail expansion, followed by China, where retail sales totaled a whopping $3.7 trillion in 2013, according to the 2014 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index.

With Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico also in the index of top emerging economies ready for retail expansion, Latin America continues to show strength as a regional retail growth market.

Rent the Runway, the popular online retailer specializing in rentals of pricey designer dresses and accessories, has opened a brick-and-mortar outpost on the second floor of The Cosmopolitan hotel’s retail complex in Las Vegas.