Apparel

The first enclosed mall on Massachusetts South Shore will undergo a $40 million conversion to an open-air center under the ownership of a spun-off unit of Phillips Edison & Company.   The 732,000-sq.-ft. Hanover Mall in Pembroke Massachusetts — anchored by Macy’s, Sears, and Walmart — was purchased last fall by PECO Real Estate Partners, which operates under the name PREP. Built in 1971 and last renovated in 2004, the center has direct access to Route 3, the major thoroughfare joining towns south of Boston.

Sears Canada could file for Chapter 11 sooner than expected.   The struggling offshoot of Sears Holdings Corp., is preparing to seek court protection against its creditors. The filing — which could happen within weeks — will likely lead to a liquidation, with the business sold off in pieces, sources told Bloomberg.  

Apparel is at a tipping point. E-commerce currently accounts for 17%-20% of total apparel sales in the U.S. Historically, when e-commerce surpasses the 20% threshold of a retail category Amazon comes in and makes a big wave, because Amazon is the main beneficiary of e-commerce capturing half of all growth in online retail. We’ve witnessed it time and time again in both media and electronics, and now it’s happening in apparel.  

Rue La La is bolstering its beauty sales by jumping into the beauty box category.   The online apparel retailer is partnering with Conde Nast's Allure magazine to get the hottest beauty merchandise into shoppers’ hands. The team collaborated to create a series of one-of-a-kind boxes filled with products hand-selected by Allure's beauty experts and Rue La La's beauty buyers.   

lululemon athletica is thinking outside its core athleisure category.   

Green Top Grocery has opened and will anchor The Foundry, a center situated on a boundary between manufacturing and residential neighborhoods in Bloomington, Minnesota.   Green Top could represent the burgeoning of a new player in the fresh and organic grocery segment in shopping centers: the local cooperative. Owned by 1,500-plus local residents, the Green Top co-op attempts to source products from farmers and vendors within a 100-mile radius of Bloomington.  

The Buckle is the latest cyber-crime target.   The teen apparel retailer was alerted that some guest credit card information was pilfered following purchases made at some of its retail stores. The chain launched a thorough investigation, which revealed that store payment data systems were infected with a form of malicious code, which was quickly removed.