Apparel

The Ivanka Trump brand is making its second foray into freestanding retail.   The company will open a location in Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue this fall, giving the tourists who visit the site a chance to buy Ivanka Trump-branded merchandise, Bloomberg reported.    The brand previously had a jewelry shop in Manhattan, which closed in 2015. It also shuttered its only other location, a luxury shop in Beijing.  

A veteran retailer has joined the executive team of Sally Beauty.   Sally Beauty Holdings has named Carrie McDermott as president of its Sally Beauty operations in the U.S. and Canada, effective August 29, 2017.  

New York City’s transformation of an old warehouse district into a Jetson-esque neighborhood of the future begins in earnest this week with leasing beginning at the 33-story One Hudson Yards residential tower.   “One Hudson Yards was curated for those who seek an elevated sense of living,” said Benjamin Joseph, Executive VP of Related Companies, developer and leasing agent for the massive project.   

Ralph Lauren starts its new fiscal year in much the same way as it ended the last one: with sales lines splashed with red ink to indicate the severe declines across most divisions of the company. Some of this would be excusable if the iconic brand were at the start of a journey of reinvention, but this comes after multiple attempts to get the firm back on track - most of which have proved to be fruitless.  

Ralph Lauren Corp. posted better-than-expected results for its first quarter as it kept tight control on its inventory and promotions. But despite the company's efforts at reinvention, sales dropped 13.2%.   

Based on the momentum of early back to school shoppers, Amazon is on pace to hit a record 80% sales growth for the season.    The online giant's school supplies sales have grown by 35% year-over-year in the first two weeks of the back-to-school shopping season, according to One Click Retail. Early back-to-school shopping only accounted for 9% of sales in 2016.  

As if American apparel retailers didn't have enough homegrown competition, ASOS, the largest online fashion retailer in the U.K., is making a major push into the American market.   

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has brought its updated store environment to Tysons Corner Center, Tysons, Va.   The location is one of seven new concept stores the retailer will open by yearend. Abercrombie debuted the new look in February, at Polaris Fashion Mall in Columbus, Ohio. It has also opened at Lenox Square, Atlanta, Georgia, and at Somerset North, Troy, Michigan (Somerset North).  

Timberland has opened a new concept store that will be completely transformed with a new theme and products every six weeks.  

Retail has reached a tipping point. Omnichannel shopping is no longer the “new thing” — it is THE THING. Demographics and technology have permanently altered consumer behavior, and retailers have felt the impact in an unprecedented manner.   In today’s environment, proactive management of the store portfolio is not an option—companies must actively pursue a forward-looking, dynamic, and data-centric approach to design the optimal store portfolio to ensure ongoing viability.