Apparel

Barneys New York is employing technology to give shoppers at its new flagship in downtown Manhattan flagship even more personalized attention — and an experience that combines the best of physical and digital retail.

Online shoppers in the United States spent $92 billion on apparel, footwear and accessories in 2015.

That’s according to a new report, by global technology research and advisory company Technavio.

J.Crew customers on Saturday received a surprise in their email accounts — a letter from the CEO and chairman of the company, Mickey Drexler.

In the note, Drexler recounted how he was recently told by a shopper that the J.Crew she loves "is back.” He then asked customers to come into stores or check out the J. Crew e-commerce site to see what she was talking about, and also requested they email him directly with their thoughts. ([email protected].)

Billabong is deploying an in-store sound and scent strategy to offer customers a more immersive experience.

The board sports apparel retailer tapped Mood Media to create a custom sound and scent strategy for select Billabong stores in France and Spain. Billabong wanted to reflect the “board culture” and values of the brand — youth, dynamism and fun.

Mood renews the strategy every two months to ensure it is kept original and that Billabong’s customers have a unique experience on each visit to its stores.

Over the past decade or so, we’ve watched as consumers have increasingly turned to e-commerce to make their purchases, and more segments of the retail sector — from apparel to grocery — have set up shop online to meet demand.

Diverse and high profile is how Schostak Brothers & Company describes the tenant mix at their southeastern Michigan shopping center and several recent additions ensure the venue lives up to that billing.

Trader Joe’s, DentalWorks, One Society and Brain Balance Achievement Centers have joined the Northville Park Place shopping center located on the southwest corner of 7 Mile and Haggerty Road in the Detroit suburb of Northville.

Duluth Holdings just put a key element of its growth strategy in place, choosing cloud commerce solutions provider Demandware to integrate its physical and digital presence.

Going to market under the banner of Duluth Trading Company, the retailer said it selected Demandware to optimize is digital and omnichannel growth strategies.

Troubled teen retailer Aeropostale Inc. has been dealt another blow.

On Friday, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading of the retailer’s stock with immediate effect, due to an "abnormally low" trading price.

Aeropostale does not intend to appeal the delisting. It said its shares will instead be traded on the OTCQX Best Market, an over-the-counter market operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. The new ticker is "AROP".

Aeropostale Inc. preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as this month, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Aeropostale has recorded three consecutive years of losses as its struggles to deal with a teen audience whose spending tastes now favor fast-fashion giants such as H&M as well as online retailers. The chain operates some 800 stores nationwide.

Under Armour continued its winning ways in the first quarter, beating sales and earnings forecast as net revenue rose 30%. The brand has had 24 consecutive quarters — six years — of sales growth of more than 20%.

Sales rose to $1.05 billion for the quarter that ended March 31, up from $805 million in the first three months of last year. The company noted that footwear sales soared more than 60% to $264 million amid the popularity of NBA superstar Stephen Curry’s signature basketball shoe line and expanded running offerings.