Apparel

NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co. announced that Patrick McGuiness has been appointed SVP and CFO  and that James Fernandez has been appointed to the newly-created role of COO. 

Italian luxury brand Missoni hits target stores this fall (Sept. 13 to Oct. 22) and like a lot of the edgier designer exclusives the retailer brings into its stores you have to wonder about the degree of brand awareness among the Target faithful. Missoni certainly sounds like it could be an Italian luxury brand, but then the same thing could be said of Mossimo, Merona or any brand that ends in a vowel.

Urban street wear retailer Dr. Jay’s has updated its flagship store in Manhattan, with a fresh, bold look that invigorates the popular brand while enhancing the customer experience.

New York City -- Stephen Carvelli, director of eCommerce at Chico’s FAS, was honored as Retail Executive of the Year at the 2011 Oracle Retail Excellence Awards. Carvelli was cited for his advocacy of cross-channel technology and knowledge of how e-commerce technology is applied in retail environments. Chico’s also was honored in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Customer Experience.”

The awards were announced at the annual Oracle Retail CrossTalk event, held June 21-24, at Westfields Marriott, Washington, D.C.

New York City -- Limelight Marketplace, an indoor mall in Manhattan, is getting a major facelift. The shopping venue will re-launch in September as a three-story department store called Limelight. Renovation costs will total almost $4 million.

"We want to display Limelight as a 'fashion-forward' venue with sophisticated and modish aesthetics," said developer and owner Jack Menashe. "The restored architecture makes Limelight the distinctive spot that it is -- allowing for an exciting shopping experience.”

New York City -- Tiffany & Co. is replacing its CFO and adding a COO position.

The company announced Patrick F. McGuiness will replace James Fernandez as CFO.

Fernandez is taking on the newly created post of COO. The moves are effective immediately.
 

Walmart attracted nearly 33.6 million unique visitors to its website in May, earning the company the 29th spot on comScore’s monthly ranking of the top 50 U.S. web properties. That sounds like a lot of traffic, but 7th ranked Amazon.com drew nearly three times that level with 94.9 million unique visitors. Other notable, retail-oriented companies and their rank included 13th ranked Apple, with 70.3 million unique visitors, 14th ranked eBay, with 67.2 million unique visitors and 20th ranked Craigslist, with 51.8 million unique visitors.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Finish Line reported that net sales for the first quarter increased 6% to $299.5 million in the first quarter compared with $282.4 million a year ago. Comparable-store sales increased 6.5% in the first quarter on top of an increase of 10.9% for the same period a year ago.

Toronto -- J. Crew announced Friday it will open its first Canadian store in August at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, located in Toronto.

The approximately 5000-sq.-ft. store, which will offer women’s-only clothing and accessories, marks J. Crew’s international debut, joining recent market entries by retailers such as Target and Big Lots in leveraging Canada’s relatively strong economy.

Los Angeles -- X Team International said that Los Angeles-based partner Cypress Retail Group has completed a lease for the first full-service 24 Hour Fitness SuperSport in North Hollywood, Calif.