Apparel

The Men's Wearhouse experienced a decline in customer traffic and a subsequent drop in retail clothing sales during the second quarter ended Aug. 3, and has lowered its guidance as a result.

SANDPOINT — Traffic to specialty retailer Coldwater Creek dropped in July leading to lower-than-expected sales for the second quarter ended Aug. 3. The company is taking several steps, including bringing in a new chief marketing officer, in an attempt to turn things around. 

Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $149.7 million, compared with $163.7 million in second quarter 2012. Net sales from the retail segment were $118.6 million, compared with $129.9 million in the same period last year. 

Sandpoint, Idaho -- Coldwater Creek Inc. narrowed its second quarter loss to $16.4 million from a year-earlier loss of $17.6 million.

Revenue was down 8.5% to $149.7 million, below the $163 million estimate from analysts. Same-store sales fell 7.3%.

President and CEO Jill Dean said sales were lower than planned in the latest period largely due to a deceleration in traffic in July.

Tampa, Fla. — From January through August of this year, the RMC Property Group has leased 430,000 sq. ft. of retail space. Approximately 200,000 sq. ft. of that volume was leased during the three-month period of June through August, indicating a strong uptick in growth over the summer.

Notable deals include:

Shopko is building on its 20-year relationship with the Green Bay Packers by unveiling the Shopko Gate, recent completed as part of Lambeau Field’s South End Zone expansion. Thousands of fans will enter the stadium through the new gate Sept. 15 for Green Bay’s first home game of the season.

New York – Abercrombie & Fitch has extended its contract with GT Nexus to expand its cloud supply chain strategy and improve visibility into the movement of orders, payments and goods. The retailer has automated its procure-to-pay process in the cloud using GT Nexus to create a transparent workflow environment for purchase orders, invoices, amendments and settlements.

Since 2010, Abercrombie & Fitch has used the GT Nexus platform to support international sourcing and supplier collaboration.

Old Bridge, N.J. — The retail vacancy rate along central New Jersey’s major shopping corridors increased to 9.8% this summer, according to R.J. Brunelli & Co.’s 24th annual study of the central New Jersey market.

The disappointing upward spike follows a major decline from a 10-year high of 10.5% to 9.1% between 2011 and 2012. R.J. Brunelli attributed the change to growing closures of smaller ships overcoming progress in re-tenanting big-box spaces larger than 20,000 sq. ft.

Pundits and the media have cast showrooming at various times as either a scourge to brick-and-mortar retailers or as a death knell — another proverbial nail in the coffin.

There’s no question that showrooming, where shoppers browse products in a store and then purchase online, is a threat to retailers like Target that have a significant investment in real estate and physical stores.

However, less publicized is the fact that showrooming is also the greatest opportunity for retailers.