Apparel

Cato Corp., just delivered its highest earnings in company history and sales topped $1 billion, but chairman, president and CEO John Cato said the road ahead could be rocky.

Cato, operator of 1,372 stores in 32 states, said its fourth quarter sales increased 4% to $247.3 million and same-store sales increased 1%. Full year sales increased 2.4% to slightly exceed $1 billion, but the addition of 31 new stores was the primary driver of full year growth as same-store sales were flat.

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store North El Centro, California on March 5. The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.

The 26,000- sq.-ft. store is located at Centro Commons, 11 miles north of the California-Mexico border, at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and Cruickshank Drive. With this location, Ross operates 277 stores in California, its largest state.

Leading off-price apparel retailer Ross Stores has named long time merchant Bernie Brautigan to the role of president of merchandising.

Brautigan previously served as Ross Stores’ group executive vice president of merchandising since 2014. He will continue to report to Ross CEO Barbara Rentler in his new role and be responsible for the ladies apparel businesses, children's, shoes, and accessories.

The combination of an unspecified number of new stores, e-commerce and same store sales growth will enable Guess Inc., to surpass annual sales of $3 billion in three years, according to new CEO Victor Herrero.

Guess ended its most recent fiscal year with total sales of roughly $2.2 billion, but CEO Victor Herrero, who joined the company last July from Inditex, believes the company can add $800 million in worldwide volume in the next three years, despite sales and profit declines last year.

Leading online jeweler Blue Nile is set to open its first physical location outside of New York City in an ongoing effort to reimagine the jewelry buying experience.

RSR has been tracking retailers' e-commerce strategies for more than five years. During that time we’ve seen interest in a major platform refresh, the introduction of mobile and social as e-commerce considerations, as well as convergence – where retailers increasingly view mobile and other non-commerce online activities in the context of their overall "digital" strategy, with their e-commerce platform as the centerpiece.

The newest addition to a Texas-sized mixed-used development taking shape north of Fort Worth is a 350,000-sq.-ft. retail project from Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.

The retail industry is not lacking for new concepts — new players are constantly entering the market, both online and offline. But breaking through and establishing a record of success is another matter entirely. In this special section, Chain Store Age presents the winners of its first-ever Breakout Retailer Awards, brands that have crossed the “newbie” line and are on track for growth in the coming years.