Apparel

Wal-Mart's Q4 results overshadowed by employee pay hike
Bentonville, Ark. -- Increased traffic and better than expected same-store sales growth at Walmart’s U.S. stores were bright spots in the retailer’s fourth quarter earnings. But the big story in Thursday’s earnings release was the announcement that approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time associates at Walmart U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs will receive pay raises in the first half of the current fiscal year.
Vineyard Vines makes Ohio debut at Easton Towne Center
Columbus, Ohio -- Vineyard Vines, a retailer of preppy inspired clothing and accessories, has opened a 3,000-sq.-ft. store in Easton Town Center. The store is the brand’s third Midwest location after Chicago and St. Louis, and is part of a plan to open 10 more stores in major U.S. markets by the end of 2015.

Cypress Equities acquires mixed-use project in Huntington Beach

Dallas -- Cypress Equities announced the acquisition of The Strand, a 96,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use development located in Huntington Beach, California.

The transaction was secured by a fund managed by Cypress’ real estate investment management group, which has acquired more than $500 million dollars of retail properties during the past two years.
Vestique centers store operations on Springboard POS

Raleigh, N.C. – Specialty fashion retailer Vestique recognizes the importance of the POS as a platform for omnichannel retailing. That is why Vestique chose the Springboard Retail POS platform as a foundation for aligning multi-store inventory, training employees and improving customer engagement as the company expands across the Southeastern U.S.
Exclusive: The Big Easy Does It

By Kirsten Early, Partner and Director of Retail, SRSA Commercial Real Estate
A&G Realty Partners tapped by C. Wonder

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners, a leading commercial real estate, advisory and investment group, has been retained by C. Wonder to manage the sale of the three retail store leases and several office locations in New York City and Long Island, following the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Walmart’s Q4 results overshadowed by new employee initiatives

Increased traffic and better than expected same store sales growth at U.S. stores were bright spots in the retailer’s fourth quarter earnings CEO Doug McMillon characterized as good despite a one cent increase in earnings per share.
ShoeBuy finds better fit with new site

The brand rennaissance of apparel e-retailer ShoeBuy is complete: The company has relaunched its e-commerce site after taking cues from customer feedback and consumer research.

The 15-year old retailer founded in Boston aims to deliver a more intuitive website, a refreshed rewards program and a commitment to building an engaging shopping experience. New features added to the ShoeBuy shopping experience include a virtual fitting tool, expert insights and blogs, customer reviews, and online customer service chat.
Kenneth Cole names former Macy's exec as CEO

Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. has appointed an apparel industry veteran as CEO.

Marc Schneider will assume responsibility for the company's retail, outlet, e-commerce, international, licensing and wholesale businesses. He takes over from founder Kenneth Cole, who has served as interim CEO since February 2011.
Nordstrom, Trader Joe’s tops in customer satisfaction; overall index declines

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Customer satisfaction with retail is down for the first time in four years. According to a report by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), all brick-and-mortar retail categories show weakening or flat customer satisfaction for the fourth quarter of 2014. Internet retail satisfaction, however, is up from the same quarter in 2013.
Italy’s Miroglio Group selects Zebra WiFi for customer experience

Alba, Italy - The Miroglio Group, an Italy-based international fashion retailer, has selected Zebra Technologies' wireless LAN solution to optimize information processes and transform them into a single omnichannel workflow. This selection was done as part of an overhaul plan that involved all the Italian companies in the Group: four buildings at its headquarters in Alba, its Milan offices and the entire store channel.
CIT: Electronics, furniture look strong in 2015; mixed outlook for apparel

New York -- The consumer electronics and furniture sectors of the retail industry can look forward to growth in 2015, while the apparel sector faces a more mixed outlook. That was the message sounded by CIT Commercial Services executives during a roundtable discussion, "Everyone Looks Good in the Black: Retailers in the Economic Rebound,” part of the CIT Executive Insights series.

During the discussion, each CIT executive offered their views on the top trends they see ahead in various sectors of the retail market: