Apparel

Cincinnati -- Macy’s announced that Bloomingdale’s plans to open a 150,000-sq.-ft., three-level location in fall 2018 in an all-new shopping, dining and entertainment center being developed in Norwalk, Connecticut, by General Growth Properties.

“This spectacular new shopping center will be a distinctive and upscale destination for Fairfield County and surrounding areas, prominently positioned at I-95 and Highway 7,” said Tony Spring, chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale’s.

Hampstead, Md. – Jos. A. Bank Clothiers is reportedly laying off 122 workers at its corporate headquarters. According to Reuters, the cuts will occur between May and December 2015, and represent about 15% of its total headquarters personnel. The layoffs come nearly one year after the company was acquired by Men’s Wearhouse.

Chicago -- Torrid, the edgy plus-sized apparel division of Hot Topic, will open a flagship on State Street in Chicago, on April 8. It’s part of 60 stores the retailer is planning to open across the country this year.

The 3,000-sq.-ft. store, located in The Loop, Chicago's historic shopping district, will be Torrid's tenth store in the Windy City.

Last week, Oracle hosted its second annual Oracle Industry Connect conference in Washington, D.C. This seat of world power was an appropriate setting for a two-day summit explaining how retailers can use technology to obtain better control of every aspect of their enterprises.

Here are three key lessons attendees gleaned from Oracle Industry Connect:

Customers are the Best Salespeople

Minneapolis - Christopher & Banks Corp, has named Edwin J. Holman to its board of directors, following a search process with the assistance of a national search firm. Holman’s election increases the number of board members to nine and the number of independent directors to eight.

Holman is also expected to be a nominee for election at the company’s next annual meeting of stockholders. Holman, 68, served as interim CEO of The Pantry Inc. from October 2011 until March 2012.

Herzogenerauch, Germany - Employing 45 profit protection managers and using three different POS systems across 11 global markets, Germany-based vertical athletic apparel/footwear retailer Adidas does not have an easy time managing loss prevention. But as demonstrated in a presentation at the recent Oracle Industry Connect 2015 conference, Adidas is simplifying loss prevention with the use of the Micros XBR loss prevention solution.

Ascena Retail Group has named Brian Lynch, a 35-year fashion and retail industry veteran, as president and CEO of its Justice stores<span style="color: rgb(54, 54, 54); font-family: open_sansregular, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; fo

Brick-and-mortar stores are in transition from being viewed as a relic of the 20th century to being understood as the linchpin of 21st century omnichannel retailing. In the SPECS session “Reinventing Brick & Mortar Retail,” speaker Nadia Shouraboura, founder and CEO, Hointer Inc., explained just how wide-ranging that transition will be.

“The next 10 years will see more profound change in store design that we’ve seen in the last 1,000 years,” said Shouraboura.