Apparel

Washington, D.C. -- The average person celebrating Easter this year will spend $140.62, slightly more than last year’s $137.46, according to the National Retail Federation’s Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Total spending for Easter is expected to reach $16.4 billion.

Most Americans plan to stock up on food and clothing for the Easter holiday, according to the National Retail Federation.

NRF’s Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics reports that the average person celebrating Easter will spend $140.62, slightly more than last year’s $137.46. Total spending for Easter, which includes purchases of apparel, decorations, gifts, candy, food, flowers and more, is expected to reach $16.4 billion.

Outdoor retailer REI reached new heights in 2014 thanks to unprecedented membership growth which fueled a 4.2% same store sales increase and a record financial performance.

The same store sales increased and addition of seven new stores helped the company increase total sales 9.9% to $2.2 billion. The company ended the year with 5.5 million active members, 945,000 of whom joined the retail cooperative in 2014.

Paramus, N.J. -- Ripco Real Estate has leased the former Fortunoff Building at 150 Route 17 northbound in Paramus, New Jersey, to Bob’s Discount Furniture.

Without a permanent tenant since July 2009, Ripco was hired in mid-October 2014 to lease the property.  Five months later, through the efforts of Ripco’s New Jersey team, lead by Ira Kerner and Alison Horbach, the landlord has executed a lease with the discount retailer.

Chain Store Age hosted its 51st annual SPECS 2015 conference on March 15-17, in Las Vegas. Here are three takeways from the conference concerning technological innovation in the store planning area:

1. Overflowing Shelves are the Enemy
For most brick-and-mortar retailers, having shelves chock full of merchandise with every possible variation (such as size and color) is the definition of successful merchandising. But in actuality, overflowing shelves leave store associates too busy to assist customers, who are left overwhelmed.

New York – The elimination of a one-time adverse legal ruling helped Tiffany & Co. swing from loss to profit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, but a strengthening dollar hurt overall sales. Tiffany reported net earnings of $196 million, compared to a net loss of $104 million the same period a year earlier.

However, worldwide net sales of $1.28 billion were down 1% from $1.3 billion, with the stronger U.S. dollar negatively impacting foreign sales results. Same-store sales dropped 4%.

New York – New York & Company Inc. reported a net loss of $6.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net income of $6.9 million in the same quarter a year earlier. A variety of costs, including increased selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as well as expenses related to relocation of corporate headquarters and severance, contributed to New York & Company’s negative profit results.

Omaha, Neb. – Net income at Gordmans Stores Inc. dropped 15% to $2.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, from $2.7 million the same period a year earlier. Increased selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs helped push down profits.

In 2015, the company plans to open six new stores, two of which opened in the Cleveland area earlier in March. Gordmans also plans to close one store later in 2015 when the lease term expires.

Mexico City - Mexican brand manufacturer and retailer Ferrioni is updating several legacy systems and processes by implementing the complete Jesta I.S. Vision Suite. Ferrioni will not only replace its manual supply chain processes to fully automated ones, but it will also replace legacy POS and merchandising systems.

Off-price retailer Gordmans Stores Inc. on Friday reported a decline in same store sales for the 10th straight quarter.

Gordmans said fourth-quarter net income was $2.3 million, or 12 cents a share, down from $2.7 million, or 14 cents as share, a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least one year fell 2.7%. Net sales rose 2% to $204 million.