Apparel

Montreal — Simon Property Group, SmartCentres and Calloway REIT hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 2 to begin construction of Premium Outlets Montreal, the second Premium Outlet Center in Canada.

U.S. retailers increasingly tapping into global markets via online efforts

Demand for American brands around the globe is getting bigger every day. There are currently more than 2 billion prospective global customers, and about 25% of the traffic from U.S. retail sites comes from international shoppers, according to industry experts, with Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Russia and Hong Kong currently the top international markets for U.S. retailers.

A survey of 87 retailers conducted by Pacific Gas & Electric found many are unhappy with their lighting and are considering LED lighting to save energy. But, at the same time, they lack sufficient information to evaluate products.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW, Inc. is opening four new stores on Oct. 10. The stores will be located in Muskegon, Mich., Rochester, Minn., Boardman, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn.

Customers will be eligible to participate in DSW Rewards, a free loyalty program in which customers earn certificates toward future DSW purchases and receive special member-only offers. Customers can also participate in the Shoe Lover community on Facebook to receive exclusive offers and giveaways.

Seattle -- HauteLook, an online flash sale retailer owned by Nordstrom, announced that founder Adam Bernhard is stepping out of the CEO role and day-to-day operations of the business, but will remain with HauteLook in an advisory capacity. Terry Boyle will remain as president, reporting to Jamie Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom Direct. With HauteLook fully operating as a division of Nordstrom, no CEO will be appointed in Bernhard's place
   

Apparel, cosmetics and home furnishings retailer Dillard’s is offering a custom edition of the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities. 

The exclusive, 288-page hardbound cookbook is filled with holiday recipes, color photos, menus, decorating tips and entertaining ideas and costs $10. It is available at all Dillard’s stores nationwide, as well as online. Proceeds from the sale of the cookbooks will benefit local Ronald McDonald Houses operated by RMHC Chapters in Dillard’s markets.

Los Altos, Calif. -- Catalog Spree, the personal digital mall that lets consumers browse and shop their favorite brands, has teamed with Google to distribute interactive retail catalogs and lookbooks on the web through Lightbox Ads. These targeted ads will feature Catalog Spree's full-page catalogs and lookbooks, and will be distributed on the Google Display Network, which reaches more than 100 million American consumers.

New Balance is joining forces with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service to provide wounded service members with free athletic shoes through the Wounded Care program.

Since 2007, the Exchange and New Balance have provided complimentary footwear to service members who have been injured in action. More than 400 free pairs have been provided to Wounded Warriors this year alone.