Apparel

Dolce & Gabbana to open flagship in SoHo
New York -- Dolce & Gabbana will open a flagship store in the 15,000-sq.-ft. 155 Mercer Street building in the SoHo area of New York City.

Thor Equities leased the entire building to the Italian luxury fashion house, which plans to re-create the original brownstone façade.

Originally built in 1855 as Firemen’s Hall, the historical property was most recently home to dance performance venue the Joyce Theater. The four-level building includes 50 ft. of frontage on Mercer Street.
IT’SUGAR and Buckle to open at Colorado Mills
Lakewood, Colo. -- Colorado Mills will add IT’SUGAR this March and Buckle during this fall to its current mix of more than 200 stores. These new retailers follow openings by Calvin Klein, Michael Kors Outlet and Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen.

IT’SUGAR will be located in Neighborhood 4 near American Eagle Outfitters Factory Store. Buckle is also coming to Neighborhood 4.

Los Angeles-area Kohl’s sells for $22 million

Irvine, Calif. -- Hanley Investment Group announced that Ed Hanley, Kevin Fryman and Eric Wohl negotiated the sale of an 88,000-sq.-ft. Kohl's Department Store, located in the Los Angeles area. The single-tenant triple-net leased property sold for $21,950,000, representing a historic national record-breaking low cap rate of 4.80%.   
Fewer discounts help American Eagle beat estimates

American Eagle Outfitters reported better-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter, as an improved assortment and fewer discounts drove sales.

The teen apparel retailer said it earned $61.6 million, or 32 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $10.5 million, or 5 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew 3% to $1.07 billion. Same store sales, which includes online sales, were flat, but they beat management forecasts.
New Shoes.com takes aim at Amazon, Foot Locker

The new owner of Shoes.com is not wasting any time in its quest to compete in a market dominated by Amazon and Foot Locker.

Shoeme, the parent company of OnlineShoes.com and Shoeme.ca, has formally re-launched Shoes.com after buying the website in December with a refreshed design and expanded product offering, now with more than 450 brands.
Dressbarn launches omnichannel dress experience

Despite its frumpy name, Dressbarn is turning out to be quite the digital innovator in the apparel category after launching an omnichannel offering called Dressbar.

The Dressbar pop-up shop within Dressbarn stores and on dressbarn.com will feature digital components and dresses that have "a story." Dressbarn says it believes that every dress has a story, and the store will honor its heritage while creating a compelling destination for new dress stories to begin.
Abercrombie & Fitch fails with teens in Q4

Troubled retailer Abercrombie & Fitch continued to be out of favor with its teen target market in the fourth quarter, with declines in both income and sales.

Looking ahead, the company said its priorities include increasing comparable sales trends in both its U.S. and international stores, making strategic investments in its omnichannel business, ongoing expense reductions, and selective expansion in high-growth international markets.
Shoes.com refreshes site, expands assortment

Seattle – Shoes.com is not just standing still, tapping its toes. The Shoes.com website has been formally re-launched with a refreshed design and expanded product offering, now with more than 450 brands.

As part of the new design, Shoes.com makes it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for with better navigation, product categorization and refined search. Choosing a product is also easier with more customer reviews and improved product images, including videos.
Survey: Free shipping still drives online purchases

Reston, Va. - Online shoppers around the world want the ability to search and shop on multiple channels and devices, expect to see alternate delivery and payment options, and when it comes to shipping and returns, “free” is a driving factor to complete the sale. According to the second UPS Pulse of the Online Study conducted with comScore Inc., American online shoppers are open to new trends on social media and in-store technologies, making more purchases on tablets than any other market.
Publix, Aldi, H-E-B top Temkin Experience Ratings

Waban, Mass. – Publix, Aldi and H-E-B share something besides all operating in the grocery sector. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, the three supermarket chains earned the highest scores in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks 293 companies across 20 industries.

Joining those firms in the top 12 spots are retailers Chick-fil-A, PetSmart, Amazon.com, Trader Joe's, Papa John's, Walgreens, and Hannaford's.
Stage Stores boosts Q4 profit, will close 10-20 stores

Houston – A dropping cost of sales helped Stage Stores Inc. boost net income 76% to $43.72 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, up from $18.26 million the same quarter a year earlier. Net sales climbed 6% to $524.89 million from $492.54 million, and same-store sales rose 6.4%.

Stage Stores plans to close 10-20 stores and open two new stores during fiscal 2015.
Deckers Brands rolls out Asia-Pacific e-commerce site

Goleta, Calif. - Deckers Brands is rolling out the company's first multi-brand e-commerce platform in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Style X Deckers. The service, which has more than 100 SKUs of products from UGG, Teva, Sanuk and Hoka One One is expected to launch in five APAC countries during the first half of 2015.