Apparel

Minneapolis – Christopher & Banks Corp. on Tuesday swung to a profit of $32.2 million for the fourth quarter, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

Net sales totaled $98.0 million, as compared to $104.9 million for the year-ago period. During the quarter, the company operated an average of 7.0% fewer stores than during the comparable period last year, reflecting its store conversion program.

The retailer posted revenue of $98 million in the period.

New York – Online specialty fashion retailer Revolve focuses heavily on customer experience to stay competitive in a tough market. Revolve has selected Dynamic Action, the Big Data and decision intelligence Application from OrderDynamics, to connect the “critical dots” such as: item level exposure, loyal customers’ return rates, competitive pricing and optimal inventory levels.  

New York -- Global Visual Group (GVG) has appointed 30-year retailing veteran Tony Mancini as CEO. Mancini has held significant senior executive leadership positions, including  Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Mirage Design Group and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts/Walt Disney Imagineering, leading its global capital development portfolios worldwide.
   

Off-price retailer Ross Stores feels so good about its sales performance and outlook that it has approved a 2-for-1 stock split scheduled for June.

The company said the split will be paid in the form of a 100% stock dividend to stockholders of record as of April 22. 

Ross Stores had fiscal 2014 revenue of $11 billion. 

Swedish retailer H&M, which has already made huge waves in the United States, is now eyeing even more global omnichannel expansion.

The company is planning to open 400 new physical stores, a new flagship in New York City’s Herald Square, and at least nine new online stores.

The retailer also reported results for the first quarter ended Feb. 28. H&M reported that net profit climbed 36% to 3.61 billion kronor ($423.2 million), versus a year-ago profit of 2.65 billion kronor ($311.9 million). Analysts were expecting a profit of 3.37 billion kronor.

New York -- Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) on Tuesday posted a 36% jump in its first quarter profit, easily beating forecasts, and confirmed earlier reports that it plans to open 400 stores in its current fiscal year, with most of the locations in China and the United States. In New York, it will open a 61,000-sq.-ft. flagship — one of the largest H&Ms to date — in Manhattan’s Herald Square area.
   

Outdoor retailer REI reached new heights in 2014 thanks to unprecedented membership growth which fueled a 4.2% same store sales increase and a record financial performance.

The same store sales increased and addition of seven new stores helped the company increase total sales 9.9% to $2.2 billion. The company ended the year with 5.5 million active members, 945,000 of whom joined the retail cooperative in 2014.

Toronto - Joe Fresh and Ryerson University are launching a long-term partnership that will see the creation of Canada's first fashion innovation center. The Joe Fresh Centre for Fashion Innovation, made possible with a $1 million investment from Joe Fresh, will develop and fund Canada's emerging fashion-inspired businesses through Ryerson's Fashion Zone, an incubator that supports students and student entrepreneurship.