Apparel

Dallas – DGSE Companies Inc. swung to a net loss of $523,000 from a net profit of $300,000 in first quarter 2014. The retailer cited significant decreases in both bullion and scrap sales resulting from a drop in gold prices as affecting its performance, which included a 32% drop in revenue to $19.9 million from $29.2 million.

DSGE has closed 23 stores since February 2014 and expects $3.7 million in non-recurring charges in 2014 as part of discontinued operations.

Dallas — Redevelopment has begun at Victory Park in Dallas.

The initial phase of redevelopment, scheduled to finish up late this year, aims to improve the pedestrian experience and connect American Airlines Center/Victory Plaza and the southern area of Victory Park.

Dallas -- J.C. Penney topped expectations for the first quarter, reporting a 6.2% increase in same-store sales that easily topped views. Revenue for the quarter, which ended May 3, rose to $2.80 billion, above the $2.71 billion analysts expected, up from $2.64 billion in the year-ago period.  

It was the second consecutive month of same-store sales gains for Penney, and the retailer said sales improved sequentially each month within the quarter.

Penney lost $352 million for the quarter, not as much as analysts expected.

Things took a wacky turn in the retail world this week as JCPenney reported a 6.2% same store sales increase and a huge gross margin expansion while Macy’s, Kohl’s and Walmart stumbled.

Skechers USA has signed hall-of-fame quarterback legend Joe Namath to represent the high-performing men’s Relaxed Fit from Skechers footwear line. A new advertising campaign featuring Namath will begin in the fall.

“Broadway” Joe’s campaign launches with a new television commercial utilizing the same humorous tone set by spots for Relaxed Fit footwear featuring Joe Montana and Mark Cuban. The campaign will extend across all media with Namath appearing in print, outdoor, online and point-of-sale materials through 2015.

London – U.K. swimwear and resort retailer Orlebar Brown has deployed NetSuite OneWorld to support its growth and continued global expansion. The company is leveraging NetSuite OneWorld's capabilities for financial consolidation, tax compliance support, and multi-currency and multi-language support point-of-sale (POS), for its Notting Hill store in London, as well as inventory management, order management and warehouse management to run its core mission-critical business processes.

Arlington, Va. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), along with several retail brands, has launched the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC), the centerpiece of which is a Retail Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Retail-ISAC).

Dallas -- Zale Corp. on Thursday restated its support for Signet Jewelers Ltd.'s $1 billion acquisition offer, urging shareholders to support the deal despite opposition from a large investor. The deal, under which Zale stockholders would receive $21.00 per share in cash, has been unanimously approved by the Zale board of directors.

Zale’s investor TIG Advisors LLC has called the deal "grossly unfair," saying the jewelry retailers should be able to get $28.60 a share in cash and stock.