Apparel

Men's Wearhouse is enlisting the professional sports community to rally fans and reach a lofty goal for its eighth annual National Suit Drive.

In a classic case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Neiman Marcus is deepening its relationship with an organization that could be viewed as a competitor.

LIDS Sports Group has selected a new charity partner that may resonate with many of its customers.

The company's philanthropic arm, LIDS Foundation, has named Our Military Kids as it 2015 national partner. The foundation presented a check of $200,000 to Our Military Kids to help sustain its efforts in keeping military children engaged in athletic, fine arts and tutoring programs.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. is expanding its presence in Alabama. The regional department store chain will open a new 237,000-sq.-ft. flagship store at The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Alabama.

Belk will be taking the place of an existing Sears, and expanding on its existing presence at The Shoppes at Bel Air. This activity is taking place following recent Reuters reports that private equity firm Sycamore Partners may be preparing to bid up to $3.5 billion for Belk.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. is getting the vote out when it comes to selecting that certain look. Working with digital marketing provider HelloWorld, Belk is allowing customers to both submit and vote on “looks” such as dorm room, game room and night out, created with Belk merchandise.

Las Vegas – Privately held real estate company Vestar has completed a buyout of The District at Green Valley Ranch, in Henderson, Nevada. Vestar paid $120 million to its joint venture partner Rockwood Capital to take full ownership of the 37-acre, 384,107-sq.-ft. landmark retail property minutes from Las Vegas.

Plano, Texas – The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is launching a back-to-school marketing campaign that crosses multiple channels. The campaign will be supported by ads on TV, in Seventeen magazine, direct mail, preprints, broadcast and streaming video.

All marketing elements will be housed on a back-to-school hub at the Penney website, which includes a mix-and-match game that allows kids and teens to assemble different pieces to create their own style mash-up.

Chicago – Specialty footwear retailer BucketFeet, which launched online in 2011 and entered the world of brick-and-mortar retailing with its first stores (called “studios” in 2013), is seeking to better understand studio shoppers. BucketFeet is partnering with store analytics provider RetailNext to help extend its brick-and-mortar service and shopper experience capabilities.

Gymboree is launching a colorful new campaign aimed at increasing awareness of a cause near and dear to the heart of its core customers.

The retailer has started a new effort to raise money in Gymboree and Gymboree Outlet stores to fund arts and crafts requests made by teachers on DonorsChoose.org. The goal is to fulfill classroom requests in every county where there is a Gymboree retail location.

At a time when the future of the company is unclear, Belk Inc. is reportedly building another flagship store.

Rouse Properties Inc. announced it has signed a lease with Belk Inc. to open a new 237,000 square foot flagship store at The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Ala. Belk will be taking the place of an existing Sears, and expanding on its already integral presence at The Shoppes at Bel Air.