Apparel

Framingham, Mass. – The TJX Companies, Inc. reported increased net sales during first quarter fiscal 2014. Revenue rose almost 7% from the same quarter a year earlier to about $6.2 billion, while same store sales grew 2% on top of an 8% increase from last year. Net earnings totaled $453 million.

CEO Carol Meyrowitz said that a flexible business model allowed TJX to have a profitable quarter despite adverse weather conditions. “Flowing the right merchandise at the right time continued to be key to strong merchandise margins,” she said.

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters, Inc. reported stronger than expected net sales, which drove a 39% increase in net earnings. The specialty retailer reported record total net sales of $648 million during first quarter fiscal 2014, up 14% from $568 million in the same quarter last year. Net earnings for the quarter were $47 million, higher than analyst expectations and up 39% from first quarter fiscal 2013.

Bellevue, Wash. – Real estate development firm Kemper Freeman is moving ahead with a $1.2 billion expansion of The Bellevue Collection, a regional shopping center located in Bellevue, Wash. The expansion will add two million sq. ft. of retail, office, hotel, residential, dining and entertainment space. The currently four million-sq.-ft. property already houses more than 250 stores and restaurants.
 

Columbus, Ohio – Footwear/accessories retailer DSW Inc. opened a new store in Braintree, Mass., on May 18. The new store is located at 250 Granite Street.

DSW currently operates 377 stores in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

SAN DIEGO — Lifestyle brand Tommy Bahama has selected ServiceNow, an IT cloud company, to help it evolve its IT services. 

The implementation of ServiceNow software-as-a-service has allowed Tommy Bahama to consolidate multiple IT systems into a single system of record, provide self-service interaction for users and enhance the overall IT service experience. 

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — The TJX Companies reported increased net sales during first quarter fiscal 2014. Revenue rose almost 7% from the same quarter a year earlier to about $6.2 billion, while same store sales grew 2% on top of an 8% increase from last year. Net earnings totaled $453 million.

CEO Carol Meyrowitz said that a flexible business model allowed TJX to have a profitable quarter despite adverse weather conditions. “Flowing the right merchandise at the right time continued to be key to strong merchandise margins,” she said.

Atlanta -- American Sportswear, a Panama-based wholesaler and retailer that exclusively distributes the Tommy Hilfiger brand for most of Latin America and the Caribbean, is utilizing the LogFire extended warehouse management solution.

With the cloud-based warehouse and inventory management capabilities of LogFire technology, American Sportswear will manage its multichannel distribution network, retail store replenishments and in-store inventory management.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Shopping malls continue to be popular with consumers because they offer hands-on shopping experience, according to results of a new survey from Glimcher Retail Monitor. Consumers cite reasons such as ability to try on clothes and accessories (74%), the shopping experience (55%) and store variety (49%) for going to the mall.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Men’s Wearhouse will tailor email campaigns to individual shoppers using personalized email marketing technology from CQuotient. The solution will allow Men’s Wearhouse to capture data across consumer touchpoints and use predictive algorithms to target customers with individualized email messaging.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio — Ikea and Walmart are among the retailers heading to Charlotte, N.C., to anchor the Belgate Shopping Center. The new 900,000-sq.-ft. shopping center is DDR Corp.’s first ground-up domestic development in more than four years. 

The center will also include junior anchors Marshalls, Old Navy, Petco, ULTA, Cost Plus World Market, Hobby Lobby and Shoe Carnival.