Apparel

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN is launching an exclusive collection of fashion jewelry inspired by some of Universal Pictures' most iconic films. In celebration of the legendary studio's centennial anniversary, The Universal Vault Jewelry Collection—consisting of necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings and pins—is designed to bring to life the romance, adventure and prestige of the past 100 years in film, HSN said. In 2012, Universal will be restoring and re-releasing 13 of its most well-known films.

NEW YORK — Gap has launched a new global marketing campaign focused on its new t-shirt collection. The line will include three categories—The Now Tees, The Essential Tees, and The G Tees— as well as other t-shirt-inspired styles including dresses, skirts, tanks and rompers.

Reston, Va. -- Online U.S. retail spending reached $44.3 billion in first quarter 2012, up 17% versus a year ago, according to comScore’s Q1 2012 Retail survey. It was the tenth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

In other findings, 38% of tablet owners have made a purchase on their devices within the past month. Apparel was the most popular category for purchase among tablet shoppers.

Atlanta -- Women’s fashion retailer Aritzia has chosen to roll out RedPrairie Corp.'s supply chain execution solutions in its 80,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Vancouver, British Columbia.

New York -- British lifestyle brand Superdry USA on May 9 debuted its largest North American retail destination to date, a two-story, 14,000-sq-ft. store in New York City's Times Square. It is the brand’s third Big Apple location.

CINCINNATI — Macy's Inc. reported a significant increase in sales for the first quarter, thanks to a strong performance in its online business. The company reported that total sales for the quarter increased 4.3% to $6.1 billion. Online sales for the quarter increased 33.7% and contributed 1.5 percentage points to the company's same-store sales increase of 4.4% for the period.

Macy's Inc. reported an earnings increase of 43% to 43 cents per diluted share, compared with 30 cents per diluted share in the same period last year.

Cincinnati -- Macy's Inc. reported a better-than-expected 38% increase in its first-quarter profit as the chain continues to benefit from its move to target its offerings to local markets. However, the retailer disappointed the Street by failing to up its guidance for the year.

Macy's said that its net income rose to $181 million for the three-month period ended April 28, up from $131 million a year ago.

Revenue increased 4.3% to $6.14 billion, from $5.89 billion a year ago. Same-store sales were up 4.4%.

San Jose, Calif. -- VeriFone Systems announced that New Balance and Samsonite have selected VeriFone GlobalBay's mobile point-of-sale solution.

The solution is designed to make it possible engage the customer in a more meaningful way by untethering the store associate from a fixed location POS register to provide mobile checkout at the point of interaction where its really needed. VeriFone GlobalBay apps also provide store associates with access to inventory, price and product information, as well as customer purchase history and recommendations.