Apparel

Summer is an interesting time in the world of retail. With lazy vacation-stilted months in June and July and the comparatively bustling back-to-school energy of August, it is a season of contradictions. While, yes, the unique challenges and opportunities of summer sales patterns and scheduling are different than any other time of the year, understanding what is likely on tap for retailers this summer requires an appreciation for certain universal factors that play a role no matter what the calendar says.  

Arc’teryx Equipment, a Vancouver,Canada-based specialty retailer of high-performance outerwear and goods, is all about helping customers achieve their maximum potential.   The retailer has decided to take that same performance-driven ethos and apply it internally with help from visual analytics technology provider Qlik. Arc’teryx is using the Qlik visual analytics platform to transform its operational efficiencies and expand its global footprint.   

Amazon currently accounts for one in three shopping transactions in North America, but few details about the e-tail giant’s product assortment have not been readily available. Until now.    

It’s no secret that mixed-use developments are incorporating an increasing amount of entertainment uses and experience-centric concepts into their projects. Gone are the days of shopping-only destinations. Developers and local municipalities are focusing more and more on complex retail-led mixed-use formats to attain a focal point for social, commercial and economic growth.

Blue Nile jumped into the physical space last summer with a store at Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, New York, but it’s not stopping there.   The online jeweler has opened two additional locations, at Tysons Corner Center mall in Fairfax County, Virginia, and at The Westchester mall in White Plains, New York. Blue Nile will open a fourth store later this summer, at the Washington Square mall in Portland, Oregon.  

PGA Tour Superstore opened its 26th store to date — and first store in Minnesota — on June 11.   Located in Minnetonka, in a previous Sports Authority location, the 41,000-sq.-ft. store has 12 interactive simulators, practice hitting bays, a large putting green measuring more than 1,500 sq. ft. and an in-house club-making and repair facility to provide an interactive experience to golf enthusiasts of all levels.  

For the retail industry, the storefront has taken on an entirely new meaning. The brick-and-mortar store is no longer the end-all-be-all in retailing, but the hub or pivotal point for a much larger movement – omnichannel retailing. Currently, traditional retailers compete for everything from having enough shelf-space, to engaging customers and bringing them into their physical store to make the final sale.

Aéropostale has received final approval for $160 million in debtor in-possession financing provided by Crystal Financial LLC.