Apparel

Retail sales associates just became obsolete. We don’t need them anymore. Like travel agents, technology has made them an endangered occupation. I witnessed this paradigm shift in a small hotel ballroom in Portland, Ore., where Storycode, an app development thought leader, demonstrated a sales enablement iPad app built for Nike.

Nordstrom never rushes things. It moves forward slowly, thoughtfully and creatively. And when the company makes a decision, observers tend to nod their heads and say: “Hey, that’s a good idea.”

A week ago, in a news conference announcing the acquisition of a West Side Manhattan Nordstrom store site for $102.5 million, Peter Nordstrom said: “We’ve had the intention and the drive, gosh, probably for the last 25 years to try to be here. We fully expect this to be our most successful store.”

Hampstead, Md. -- JoS. A. Bank Clothiers reported that net income for the second quarter dropped 38% to $14.2 million, compared with $23.2 million in the same period last year, amid weaker sales.

Total sales fell 10.7% to $232.5 million. Same-store sales plummeted 15.9%; direct marketing sales decreased 1.9%.

New York -- Fashion designer Robert Graham will open his first New York City branded retail store at 380 Bleecker Street in SoHo, joining high-end neighbors such as Burberry, Brunello Cucinelli, Marc Jacobs, rag & bone, and Ralph Lauren. The Robert Graham store is slated to open this fall.

Houston -- Saks Inc. will open a new flagship store immediately adjacent to its existing location in the Houston Galleria, featuring 198,000 sq. ft. over two levels and a state-of-the-art store design. The current store will remain open until the new store opens in fall 2015. Once the old store closes, it will be converted to a two-level mall wing connecting the new Saks to Neiman Marcus and adding 35 retailers and restaurants.

New York -- Although back-to-school sales were unexpectedly sluggish, retail sales for the month of August benefited from a late boost in store traffic.

Of the retailers still reporting monthly sales – most so far are reporting slight increases in August same-store sales. Retail Metrics forecast an overall August gain of 3.2% year-over-year; retail sales advanced 3.3% during the same period last year.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a same-store sales rise of 4% in August, surpassing a forecast 3.8% gain.

Purchase, N.Y. — Hobby Lobby, Marshall’s and Home Goods have leased more than 98,000 sq. ft. of space at 562,000-sq.-ft. Pohatcong Plaza power center in Phillipsburg, N.J., according to National Realty & Development Corp.

The retailers will occupy a redeveloped building where Wal-Mart operated before expanding to a Supercenter early last year — in NRDC’s adjoining Pohatcong Plaza II.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. — Pure Barre has leased space in two Chicagoland shopping centers, according to Mid-America Asset Management Inc., the firm representing the centers.

PB Holdco LLC, d/b/a Pure Barre took 1,845 sq. ft. at Church Street Plaza in Evanston, Ill., and opened in August. Co-tenants include CineMark Century Theatres, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, Urban Outfitters, Cost Plus World Market and others.

Busan, South Korea — Shinsegae Simon, a joint venture between Shinsegae Group and Simon Property Group has announced the grand opening of Busan Premium Outlets, its third Premium Outlet Center in South Korea. The first two are located in Yeoju and Paju.

The new center is located on the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula and features 180 outlet stores. Fashion brands include Coach, Ermenegildo Zegna, Isabel Marant, Jill Stuart, Marc Jacobs, Roberto Cavalli and Vivienne Westwood.

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — Although JoS. A. Bank saw decreases across the board for its second quarter, president and CEO R. Neal Black focused on the momentum the company seems to have picked up during August.