Apparel

Ethos Contemporary Art is joining Amazon Art, a new online fine art sales channel for the world’s largest e-retailer. Ethos will be offering original fine art from artists such as Pierre Henri Matisse, Georgeana Ireland, Lisa Palombo and Dick Marconi ahead of Cyber Monday.
 

New York -- D3 LED, a global technology company that designs, engineers and manufactures turnkey LED display and lighting solutions, introduced two custom indoor 4mm high-resolution LED displays at the opening of Express’ new flagship in San Francisco.

By Kathy Gersch, executive VP, Kotter International

One thing is certain in the world of retail: the pace of change is accelerating, and competition is fierce. Longstanding retail behemoths are dying, new specialty stores are springing up overnight, and everyone is desperately searching for new ways to stay ahead of the competition while keeping themselves from sinking. People talk about this, but in my opinion, they are missing the true problem.

New York – Aeropostale Inc. has adopted a poison pill that would be set into motion if a stockholder buys 10% of the company.  

The struggling retailer said it was not adopting the plan, effective November 26, 2013, in response to any takeover proposal. Rather, the plan aims to provide stockholders with adequate time to fully assess a takeover bid, and, if appropriate, allow the board time to explore alternatives to maximize stockholder value, the company said.

New York – Tiffany reported a 50% increase in net income in its third quarter of fiscal 2013, increasing to $94.6 million from $63.2 million. Net sales were $911.5 million, up 7% from $852.7 million.

Net sales growth was strong worldwide but especially pronounced in the Asia-Pacific region, where net sales increased 27% compared to the same period in the prior year. Tiffany credited global net sales performance as driving its net income growth.

Armonk, N.Y. – Online sales on Monday, Nov. 26 were up nearly 12% from the equivalent Monday a year earlier. Data from the IBM Digital Analytics Holiday Benchmark shows that mobile traffic accounted for nearly 32% of all online traffic, up 42% compared to the same period last year.   

Fort Myers, Fla. – Chico’s FAS reported declining net income during the third quarter of fiscal 2013 even as net sales grew. Net income totaled $35.8 million, down 15% from $42 million in the same period a year earlier.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. experienced a successful third quarter of fiscal 2013, with net income and total sales both rising from the same period in the previous year. Net income equaled $55 million, up roughly 10% from $50.1 million, while total sales of $633 million were about 7% higher than $593 million.

In one negative result, same-store sales fell 0.7%. However, the retailer opened 16 new stores and launched new omni-channel initiatives.

Plano, Texas – Myron Ullman, CEO of embattled department store chain J.C. Penney, has reportedly bought $1 million of company stock. According to the Associated Press, Ullman purchased 112,000 shares at $8.95 apiece on or around Nov. 22.

Los Angeles – A majority of the 348,235 tweets about Black Friday posted between Friday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 24 were either positive or neutral in sentiment. According to analysis from social media research firm Fizziology, tweets about Black Sunday the weekend of Nov. 22-24 were 47% positive, 11% negative, 3% mixed and 39% neutral (from retailers/promotions).