Apparel

Christopher & Banks Corp. has named a former Macy's executive to its board of directors.

By Dan Goldman, Kurt Salmon

Just like bell-bottoms and leg warmers, mom-and-pop retailers are back. Not long ago, it seemed like they would be permanently relegated to some dusty attic space, a relic fighting for relevancy.

Big-box stores put them there. Between 1992 and 2014, the share of U.S. retail stores owned by companies with fewer than 500 employees fell 13%.i That’s because big boxes promised lower prices and a wider assortment, points brought home by large mass market advertising campaigns.

New data from two leading retail industry trade groups show that, once again, the demise of the nation’s malls is greatly exaggerated.

Rents, occupancy and net operating income among the nation’s shopping centers reached record levels last year, according to a review of 2014 data by the International council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF).

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

The North Face’s latest unique marketing campaign is inviting customers to the mountains for a workout without ever leaving the store.

The outdoors and fitness apparel company's latest promotion will bring Mountain Athletics workouts to five cities across the country, and customers are invited to sign up and engage in-store and online via a variety of digital marketing offerings.

Beginning March 31, the North Face will host twice-weekly free strength and conditioning workouts in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston.

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.

Huntington Beach, Calif. -- Quiksilver announced that its CEO, Andy Mooney, has resigned. Mooney had been CEO for just over two years and was appointed chairman in November. The company’s CFO, Richard Shields, has also resigned. The news comes almost two weeks after the company reduced guidance for the current year and finished an investigation into its revenue-accounting practices.

Pierre Agnes, president of Quiksilver and a 27-year-company veteran, has been promoted to CEO and added to the board of directors.