Apparel

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters, Inc. has selected TXT Integrated Retail Planning from TXT Maple Lake to support end-to-end retail planning across regions, brands and channels, from strategy through to assortment execution. The solution will help Urban Outfitters, Inc. manage the whole spectrum of its retail planning processes: strategic, merchandise planning, store grading, open to buy (OTB) and assortment planning, both pre-season and in-season.

London – Online luxury retailer Avenue 32 has launched a mobile and tablet strategy allowing designers to showcase their collections to the public without having to invest in their own online presence. Since its launch, mobile traffic has more than doubled and average transaction value has increased 270%.

Working in partnership with Usablenet, Avenue 32 provides seamless and customized experiences for both mobile and tablet; the mobile site provides a task-based experience whereas the tablet site is focused around browsing and discovery.

Owings Mills, Md. — Towne Centre at Laurel in Laurel, Md., has announced leases for 14 new retailers and restaurants. The $130 million, 400,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use redevelopment of the former Laurel Mall is now 85% leased and under construction. The first phase is scheduled to open in March with the reopening of a new 70,000-sq.-ft. Burlington Coat Factory.

The remainder of the project will open this fall, featuring Regal Cinemas, Sports Authority and the first Harris Teeter in Prince George’s County, along with the following 14 new tenants:

Chicago — Jones Lang LaSalle has announced that the firm has been retained to manage Shops Around Lenox, a 124,409-sq.-ft. open-air center off Peachtree Road in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. The property’s tenant mix includes Crate & Barrel, Lululemon Athletica, Swank, Deka, Ona Atlanta, Paper Source, Suit Supply, Seven Lamps and Bhojanic.

Plans for the fragrance division of Marc Jacobs to open a pop-up in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood are not terribly unusual. But the type of currency the shop will accept is.

The Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, which will be open during New York Fashion Week, from Feb. 7 to 9, will trade in social currency instead of money.

Modell’s CEO Mitchell Modell will be extending a personal welcome to Super Bowl fans who visit the flagship store in Times Square, N.Y., via the Tensator Virtual Assistant. The company has invested in the interactive digital signage to personalize its brand and reach out to customers in more than 10 languages.
 

New York -- The fragrance division of Marc Jacobs will open a pop-up in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood that will trade in social currency instead of money. The Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop will be open during New York Fashion Week, from Feb. 7 to 9.

According to reports, all transactions at the pop-up will be carried out based on customers’ use of the hashtag #MJDaisyChain across Twitter and other social media platforms. Shoppers will be able to exchange each tweet, Instagram post, or Facebook update for a single item.

New York -- Chico's FAS will launch its namesake brand in Mexico, through an exclusive franchise with El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C. V. ("Liverpool"), starting with a stand-alone boutique at Perisur Mall, Mexico City, in spring 2014.

Plans for the Chico's expansion in Mexico include the opening of stand-alone stores as well as branded shop-in-shops in Liverpool department stores. The second stand-alone boutique will open in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

Edison, N.J. -- Dotcom Distribution, a provider of fulfillment and logistics solutions, is adding a photography and creative services branch, Dotcom Photo Studio. The studio produces e-commerce imagery for retail brands, including lingerie retailer Adore Me.

Irvine, Calif. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors closed out 2013 with 10 retail property sales totaling nearly $61 million in December. For the year, Hanley logged sales of more than $315 million. Among the December sales were: