Apparel

NEW YORK — A major renovation may be underway at Lululemon’s flagship store in Manhattan, but the fast growing retailer isn’t missing a beat.

The Vancouver, B.C.-based operator of 201 stores has set up a temporary store at 1142 Third Ave., across from its flagship location to satisfy the New Yorkers’ needs while the four-month renovation is underway.

Boynton Beach, Fla. -- Designer Shoe Warehouse Inc., has selected VendorNet to provide ship-from-store and dropship management solutions.

VendorNet, a wholly owned subsidiary of GSI Commerce, an eBay Inc. company, is a provider of cross-channel fulfillment and supply chain technology. DSW will use VendorNet’s StoreNet Live to implement omnichannel retail capabilities, including brick-and-mortar store fulfillment for online sales.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity Corp. reported Tuesday that revenue for the first quarter edged down to $135.3 million, from $136.4 million in the year-ago period. The results fell within internal expectations of $132.5 million to $136.5 million.

Same-store sales rose 1.9%.

The maternity apparel retailer said the decline in total revenue was due in large part to sales declines related to closing underperforming stores.

New York -- Big M Inc., which operates Mandee and Annie Sez stores, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The New Jersey-based retailer cited the impact of Superstorm Sandy, which resulted in closures that affected its stores, corporate office and distribution center for more than a week. The company cited liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million, along with assets of the same amount.

St. Louis -- Famous Footwear, a division of Brown Shoe Co., said Tuesday it has selected Cincinnati-based Empower MediaMarketing as its media agency of record.

Empower will work with Famous Footwear to reach its target customer, as well as to help drive sales online and in-store.
 
“The landscape of paid, owned and earned media continues to change, and Famous Footwear needs to make sure its marketing efforts are effective and efficient,” said Amy Rose, media manager, Famous Footwear.

WASHINGTON — National Retail Federation and the University of Phoenix will award ten current retail employees in the U.S. a Dream BIG scholarship.

Each of the ten recipients will receive full tuition at any University of Phoenix campus or online program, to encourage them to pursue career opportunities within the retail industry.

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group Inc. said Tuesday that CFO Armand Correia is retiring after 21 years with the company that is parent to Dressbarn, Justice and other brands.

Restaurant veteran Dirk Montgomery will succeed Correia, effective Jan. 16. Montgomery most recently served as EVP and chief value chain officer of Bloomin' Brands, which operates the Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill chains.

Rockford, Mich. -- Wolverine Worldwide said Tuesday it will make several organizational moves to drive future growth and global brand building in the wake of its October 2012 acquisition of the Performance & Lifestyle Group.