Apparel

Sports Authority’s remaining 320 store leases will be auctioned in June.  

Retailers are always asking how they can increase the numbers of shoppers who visit and buy goods at their stores.   According to a study from store traffic and conversion measurement provider HeadCount, “In-store Traffic and Conversion Study: Retailers Find Keys to Impressive ROI,” the answer lies in combining data-driven coaching with analytics.  

As Sears Holdings Corp. continues to struggle to turn its business around, the chain announced it is exploring ways to expand distribution of its key brands outside its own stores. The troubled retailer also announced its CFO is leaving.

Sears lost $471 million in its first quarter, ended April 30, compared with $303 million in the year-ago period. Loss per share came to $4.41, or $1.86 adjusted for certain items. Analysts estimated a loss of $3.20 per share.

Over the last 12 annual trips I’ve made to Las Vegas for ICSC’s RECon real estate convention (which officially makes me a rookie in this industry of 20-, 30- and 40+-year veterans), I have always been able to detect some distinct trends.  

That doesn’t as much make me a trend-watcher as it does a good listener.  The retailers and shopping center operators and brokers who attend RECon each year tend to talk avidly in the aisles about the current events shaping the retail real estate industry.

A popular goose from up north is about to nest in two high-profile locations.  

Canada Goose, best known for its signature — and pricey — goose-down jacket with Arctic Circle logo and fur-trimmed hood, will open its first two freestanding stores this fall. The flagship locations are set to open at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, and in downtown Manhattan, in SoHo.

Guess Inc. swung from profit to net loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, missing analyst estimates for both net earnings and revenues.

The apparel retailer reported a net loss of $25.2 million, compared to net earnings of $3.3 million the same quarter a year earlier. Restructuring charges, a negative tax impact, and currency fluctuations helped push the retailer into the red.

Empire Outlets is New York City’s first and only outlet center so it was only fitting that a contract related to the major project was consummated at the retail real estate industry’s biggest show.
 

Feeling the heat from an activist inventory, Chico's FAS Inc. will increase its cost-cutting efforts on the heels of a disappointing first quarter.
    
The women’s apparel retailer reported a profit of $31.1 million, or 23 cents a share, for the quarter ended April 30, down from $32.5 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring-related charges and other items, adjusted per-share earnings fell to 25 cents from 30 cents.