Apparel

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.

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.

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.
 

Matteson, Ill. — Cole Credit Property Trust IV has acquired the 150,045-sq.-ft. Matteson Center in Matteson, Ill., for approximately $19 million. Marshalls, Sports Authority, Ross Dress for Less and PetSmart anchor the community shopping center located in the suburbs south of Chicago.

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. represented the seller, Kimco Realty Corp. in the transaction. Mid-America Real Estate Corporation is a member of Mid-America Real Estate Group www.midamericagrp.com, a ChainLinks affiliate headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.

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.

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.

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.

Online sales early this week 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.