Apparel

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced two new locations for Nordstrom Rack, one in Columbus, Ohio, and one in Tulsa, Oak.

Nordstrom Rack will open at Sun Center in Columbus, Ohio. The approximately 37,890-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2014.

Nordstrom currently operates a full-line store in Columbus at Easton Town Center. The company opened the first Nordstrom Rack in the area at Easton Market on September 12, 2013.

Toronto -- Shoppers Drug Mart is teaming up with Beyond the Rack, the online shopping club, to provide Shoppers Optimum members with exclusive deals on designer fashions and accessories.

Shoppers Optimum members are invited to join a new subscription-based retail website that offers exclusive savings and rewards on designer fashions and accessories. Those who register can receive special weekly product offers from Beyond the Rack while collecting 10 Optimum points on every dollar spent.

True Religion Apparel has appointed Rosella Giuliani as SVP of merchandising. In her new role, Giuliani will partner with CMO Lynne Koplin and creative director Gary Harvey to shape True Religion’s merchandising across the company’s platforms.

Giuliani will report to Koplin. Steve Horak will join the company as SVP of planning and allocation with responsibility for the brand’s product distribution, effective Nov. 4. He will report to CFO and COO Eric Bauer.

Houston – After rejecting a $2.3 billion buyout offer from Jos. A. Bank, Men’s Wearhouse reportedly is considering purchasing men’s shoemaker Allen Edmonds Corp., according to reports by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and others. The high-end footwear is owned by private equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, which bought it seven years ago.

It wasn’t clear how — or if — a deal for Allen Edmonds would impact on Jos. A. Bank’s offer.

Dodgeville, Wis. -- Lands' End in November will open its first standalone store in a shopping mall. The store will be located in the western Chicago suburbs, in the Yorktown Center Mall, Lombard, Ill.
 
The store officially opens to the public on Nov. 15, marking the first ever full-price Lands' End store outside of Madison, Wis. The company opens the doors on the new location in its milestone 50th anniversary year.
 

Glendale, Calif. — Glendale Galleria has announced the addition of more than 30 new and expanded stores to its merchandise mix. Most of the new store openings coincide with the mall’s expansive renovation, which updates aesthetics inside and outside of the center. The renovations should finish up by early November in time for the new retailer openings and the holiday shopping season.

Baltimore -- Under Armour announced that COO Kip Fulks has added president of product to his current responsibilities, while Henry Stafford is now serving as president of North America.
   
In the new positions, Fulks will further leverage his leadership experience in product, innovation, supply chain and IT, and Stafford will oversee North America wholesale, retail marketing, global retail and global E-Commerce.
 

One-third (33%) of U.S. families are making less money as a result of job loss, moving to a part-time job and/or working at a lower-paying job, which may have an impact on holiday shopping.

In addition, according to three recent consumer surveys from America’s Research Group (ARG), 40% of parents are trying to save as much money as they can for their children's college education, 38% of families did not take a vacation this year of four days or longer, and 44% of parents will do most of their back-to-school apparel shopping in December when the deals are better.