Apparel

New York -- High-end luggage and accessories Tumi has selected LED lamps from Solais Lighting, a division of PowerSecure International, has its lighting product of record. Tumi has specified Solais’ Xi20 and Xi24 PAR LEDs featuring the company’s VioLight color-enhancing technology.

Tumi recently installed the LEDs in its store in New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
 

Houston -- Charming Charlie has appointed Melissa Boughton as senior VP of real estate & construction, where she is spearheading the retailer’s real estate, store planning, construction, facilities and lease administration functions.

Kohl’s is launching an innovative program to attract shoppers to its back to school sales.

The retailer plans to feature children’s books from author Laura Numeroff now through September at Kohl’s stores nationwide and on Kohls.com. Each item is priced at just $5, with 100% of the net profit supporting children’s health and education initiatives nationwide. 

Express Inc. has named a new CFO, and the retailer did not look far to fill the role.

Cincinnati -- Phillips Edison Grocery Center announced it has acquired three grocery-anchored shopping centers in Michigan, California, and Massachusetts.

Crossroads Towne Center is a 102,275-sq.-ft. grocery store-anchored shopping center in Howell, Michigan, a suburb of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The center is anchored by Kroger, and also features national tenants Great Clips, Jets Pizza, Subway, H&R Block, and Little Caesars.  

London - McArthurGlen Group, an owner, developer and manager of European designer outlets, is opening its first North American location on July 9, in Vancouver. McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport is designed in an open-air village style, with a luxury piazza and tree-lined streets.

On opening, the center will offer 240,000-sq.-ft. of retail space with 50 new stores, featuring Armani, Coach, J Crew, Hugo Boss, Ports 1961, Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren, with more brands to come before the end of 2015.

Los Angeles -- American Apparel on Monday announced it would close some stores as part of a $30 million cost-cutting initiative in its strategic turnaround plan. (American Apparel CEO Paula Schneider discussed the plan with CSA in a recent interview.) The embattled company also made two other revealing disclosures.

New York -- Let’s be clear about one thing: Paula Schneider is not changing the DNA of American Apparel. The apparel industry veteran, who took the reins of the troubled retail company in January 2015, is quite proud of the brand’s progressive spirit.

“We are a very inclusive brand,” Schneider told Chain Store Age. “One that gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves. You can see it in our clothes and in the causes we support.”

Indianapolis - Lids Sports Group will continue living out the childhood dreams of countless consumers by “playing ball” with Major League Baseball players. Lids has reached a licensing agreement extension with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) granting the sportswear retailer licensing rights to embroider the names, numbers and autographs of MLBPA players on New Era MLB-licensed caps.

Chicago -- Englewood Construction has finished a 55,000-sq.-ft. ground-up Hobby Lobby store on an outlet pad at Seabrook Crossings, a new retail development in Seabrook, N.H.   

In Franklin, Tenn., Englewood recently completed an American Girl store, located in the CoolSprings Galleria mall just outside of Nashville. The store is the 12th Englewood has completed for American Girl. The architect for the project was Morristown, N.J.-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.