Apparel

There’s no time like face time. Whether closing a multi-million dollar business deal or selling discount apparel, nothing moves the needle like human engagement. And although modern POS solutions have been revolutionary in integrating inventory, customer data, omnichannel sales, and a slew of other retail success factors, large cash-wraps have driven a physical wedge between merchant and customer.

The Running Specialty Group is uniting its various store banners under one of its newest brands: JackRabbit.

American Dream has added more fire power to its retail lineup.

The Triple Five Group of Companies, the developer of the long-delayed retail and entertainment mega-center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Monday announced the names of 10 new retail tenants who will be setting up shop there. These include: Aritzia, Banana Republic, Gap, Lululemon, Mac, Microsoft, Pink, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret and Zara.

There may not be a return of the annual “Running of the Brides” sales event, but a legendary discount retailer is back in business. Filene’s Basement has launched an e-commerce site that combines its traditional bargains with new omnichannel features.

For specialty men’s apparel retailer Knot Standard Inc., custom fit is everything.

The New York-based omnichannel retailer, with seven showroom stores in the U.S. and Dubai, as well as a global e-commerce business, tailors clothing to its customers’ dimensions. This customized approach also fits its IT strategy.

“We built all our systems from scratch using PhP [development language],” explained Matthew Mueller, CEO and co-founder of Knot Standard. “There is no off-the-shelf technology.”

Retailers always take a gamble when targeting promotions, and The Limited is doing its best to improve the odds. The specialty apparel retailer is using the First Insight InsightTargeting predictive analytics solution to determine which products and prices will appeal most among specific customer segments.

InsightTargeting combines data from First Insight's real-time consumer engagements with behavioral data from CRM and social media platforms.

Express is making payment and participation in its loyalty program easier to accomplish from a mobile device. The specialty apparel retailer is launching a new mobile app that includes full integration with its Express Next loyalty program and cardless payment functionality.

Foot Locker’s newest promotion with NBA superstar James Harden serves as reminder to retail marketers that imagination is their only constraint when it comes to leveraging social media to connect with consumers.

REI has promoted Rachel Ligtenberg to VP of retail following a 25-year tenure with the company.

In her new role, she adds retail operations to her current responsibilities of leading store design, visual merchandising and the co-op's flagship strategy.

Ligtenberg will continue to enhance REI's retail experience through new store design concepts to showcase its products, services and educational programs.