Apparel

New York -- Tween apparel retailer Delia’s has hired Daphne Smith as the company’s executive VP operations, reporting to CEO Tracy Gardner.

Smith was previously with J. Crew for 16 years, working in various roles including senior VP of direct. She has spent the past 18 months at New York & Company as the company’s senior VP e-commerce.

Buoyed by strong sales and growing profitability, leading footwear retailer DSW Inc., preannounced second quarter sales and plans for a 2-for-1 stock split in advance of the release of second quarter results on August 27.

DSW’s sales for the second quarter ended August 3, increased 9% to $558 million from $512 million and same store sales increased 4.3% on top of a prior year gain of 4.2%. Those results prompted the operator of 377 stores to increase its full year profit forecast to a range of $3.60 to $3.80 per share from the previous range of $3.40 to $3.60 per share.

Fremont, Calif. -- The Men's Wearhouse has wrapped up its previously announced acquisition of Joseph Abboud (JA Apparel Corp.).

The cash transaction is valued at about $97.5 million; JA Holding will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of The Men's Wearhouse.

 

Pittsburgh – American Eagle Outfitters is lowering its earnings outlook for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 due to what the retailer characterizes as weak sales and margins. The company now forecasts earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter of about $0.10, down significantly from $0.21 in the second quarter of last year.

Winnipeg, Manitoba — Silver Jeans Co. has announced the opening of a loft concept store at La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas, on Sept. 13.

“We put a lot of work into making sure the store environment represents our brand,” said Michael Silver, Silver Jeans’ CEO. The 1,536-sq.-ft. loft will feature digital technology with a mobile point-of-sale system. A 6-ft media wall will display the latest ad campaign and music videos.

New York — Korean fashion designer Boyoung Kim will open her first dedicated boutique on Columbus Avenue, said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, and Joseph A. Aquino, executive VP of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Discount retailers TJ Maxx and Saks Off Fifth outlets plan to dive into e-commerce waters this year, according to reports. 

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk is teaming up with social, mobile and digital engagement platform ePrize, as well as Pinterest and Instagram marketing analytics suite provider Curalate to launch a Pinterest campaign aimed at brides called “Pin to Win.” At a high level, during the promotion consumers will visit a sweepstakes microsite where they can "pin" a pre-populated pin board image based on their bridal type or select an image of their own for a chance to win a $5,000 Belk gift card.