Apparel

Highland Park, Ill. — Executives with Renaissance Place are working with officials from the City of Highland Park, Ill., to identify the best use for a 49,000-sq.-ft. building that Saks vacated at the close of 2012.

One possible use is healthcare, which may involve interventional cardiology, MRI/radiology and other outpatient services. The Renaissance Place team is also considering national, regional and local retailers.

Hampstead, Md. – Jos. A. Bank is one more retailer planning to start Black Friday while it’s still Thanksgiving. The retailer will hold its annual Black Friday doorbusters event from 8 p.m. – 1 a.m. Thanksgiving night and 6 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29.

New York – The Jones Group has reportedly set Dec. 1 as a final deadline for a buyout bid from Sycamore Partners. According to Women’s Wear Daily, with the assistance of Citi Jones Group has gone through an extensive auction process which at times included KKR & Co. and G-III Apparel Group Ltd.

By Andrew Kokes, global VP, marketing & product management, Sitel

One of the most significant trends in customer engagement over the past several years is the rise of social media outside marketing and inside customer service. Social media is moving beyond contacts and interactions to a culture of community and collaboration for the most engaged and customer-centric companies.

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.