Apparel

Merrimack, N.H. -- Brookstone Inc. will appoint senior retail executive Thomas M. Via as president and CEO, and as a member of its board of directors, effective Dec. 1. Steven H. Schwartz, who had been serving as interim CEO, will resume his role as chief merchandising officer.  

Perhaps the most aggressive traffic and sales generating promotional effort this Black Friday comes courtesy of Old Navy.

The Old Navy division of Gap, Inc., plans to open its more than 800 stores at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and will price all merchandise at half off for 31 hours until stores close at 11 p.m. on Black Friday. And, if the 50% markdown isn’t sufficient to motivate shoppers, the retailer plans generate store traffic by giving away $1 million to one lucky customer and 1,000 $200 gift certificates.

Little Rock, Ark. -- Dillard's Inc. reported Thursday a profit of $55.2 million in its fiscal third quarter, up 8.4% over the $50.9 million profit in the same period last year.   Sales, however, dipped to $1.460 billion, from $1.469 billion, and same-stores sales declined 1%.   Still, said CEO William T. Dillard II, "We believe we are positioned very well for the holiday season.”  

New York -- Entertainer Nick Jonas joined Lord & Taylor/Hudson’s Bay president Liz Rodbell for the unveiling of the department store’s annual holiday windows on NYC’s Fifth Avenue on Thursday, marking the 100th anniversary of the retailer’s holiday window program.  

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. retail sales edged up in October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department, evidence that recent job gains and lower gas prices are lifting consumer spending as the holiday shopping season begins. Retail sales rose 0.3% last month after falling by the same amount in September. Excluding gas stations, where falling prices lowered spending, sales rose a solid 0.5%.  

Spanx, one of the hottest brands in retail, named finance executive Dan Glennon to the new role of COO and CFO to help drive growth at the leading shapewear brand.

Glennon will lead the cross functional teams of global finance, legal, information technology, sourcing, manufacturing and planning as well as data and analytics. He will report directly to Spanx CEO Jan Singer.

New York -- A petition to get Old Navy to stop charging more for women's plus-size jeans has gathered more than 36,000 signatures online, Bloomberg reports.  

London -- Challenged to grow in the U.S., teen apparel chain American Eagle Outfitters is making good on its pledge to leverage the overseas market to kickstart expansion.