Apparel

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is entering a new market in the Middle East.    The teen retailer announced that, in partnership with Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, it will open the first Abercrombie & Fitch store in Saudi Arabia, at the Red Sea Mall in Jeddah. The store is part of the previously announced franchise agreement between Majid Al Futtaim Fashion and Abercrombie.  

An upscale department store retailer has a new way to bridge the gap between its online and offline shopping experiences.    Nordstrom is rolling out its Reserve Online & Try In-store service to approximately 40 stores across the country. As the program’s name implies, the service allows customers to select items online and try them on in person at their nearest Nordstrom store.  

With traditional anchors closing shop, malls nationwide are struggling to make themselves part of the entertainment business. None, however, are likely to do it as literally as Westfield’s Century City.  

Pacific Sunwear of California is stepping up its game to better connect with its mobile-savvy customers.   Through a partnership with PredictSpring, the teen apparel chain has launched a new mobile app experience — one that is faster and more and visually rich. For example, the new app links to Instagram Shop-the-Look, a service that allows customers to browse and purchase directly from the PacSun Instagram feed.  

The Finish Line's board on Monday adopted a shareholders right plan as the retailer warned of a grim second quarter and a steep decline in sales and profits for the year.    

Hurricane Harvey, the first Category 4 Hurricane to make U.S. landfall since Charley in 2004, is poised to have the same, if not larger, economic impact.  

Personalization is front and center in a new format from Roots.   The brand's new 5,000-sq.-ft. location, at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, has a modern cabin-styled design and outdoorsy feel, with a different outdoor theme in every fitting room, reported the Financial Post.  

Restaurants, off-price retailers, dollar stores and furniture outlets are likely to remain firmly in the brick-and-mortar corner even with the continued rise of online shopping.   That is according to a new report by JLL, which explores the relationship between how shoppers value goods and the way 13 retail categories will be sold.