Apparel

Niles, Ohio -- Kearney, Neb.-based teen retailer The Buckle said it has opened a new location at Eastwood Mall in Niles, Ohio.

The store, the company’s 21st in the state, celebrated its grand opening on July 16.
 

NEW YORK — The Estée Lauder Cos, whose brand portfolio includes Bumble and Bumble, American Beauty, Aveda and La Mer, has appointed Tracey Travis as EVP and CFO.

She will jointly report to executive chairman William Lauder and Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO. Travis will assume her new position on Aug. 20.

Katy, Texas -- Soma Intimates said it will open a new boutique at LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch, located in Katy, Texas.

The new store is slated to open July 23.

A joint venture of Houston-based Vista Equities Group and Denver-based Amstar Group, LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch is a mixed-use town center development located within the 7,600-acre master planned community of Cinco Ranch.

Phase I of LaCenterra opened March 1, 2007 with approximately 170,000 sq. ft.
 

Niles, Ohio -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co. said that The Children’s Place will open a new store in the Dillard’s Concourse of Eastwood Mall, in Niles, Ohio.

The new store is slated to open November 2012 in more than 3,500 sq. ft. of space.  

Armonk, N.Y. – In-store sales of women’s clothing are expected to see a 9.2% increase in the third quarter of 2012 versus the year-ago period, according to a just-released IBM analytics-based forecast of U.S. retail sales data. The report predicts a 6.2% increase in sales of children’s clothing and a 5.2% increase in footwear. Men’s clothing, however, is forecast to lag, dropping 6.7%.

Retailers should brace for strong back-to-school sales according to a National Retail Federation survey that shows a surge in K-through-12 and college spending.

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGInsight found that the average parent will spend $688.62 on back-to-school items this year, compared with $603.63 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $30.3 billion.

NRF cited an increased number of children entering elementary and middle school this fall, as well as necessary back-to-school replenishments after last year’s cutbacks, for the predicted improvements.

Chicago -- The first of Target’s smaller-format CityTarget urban stores are slated to open on July 25 in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Two years in the making, the smaller stores will feature broad offerings in a space two-thirds the size of a regular Target store – or 80,000 sq. ft. to 100,000 sq. ft., compared with 135,000 sq. ft. to 175,000 sq. ft.