Apparel

A change at the top has given new energy to Boston-based specialty retailer City Sports. In July, the company tapped veteran retail executive Marty Hanaka as CEO. He replaced Edward Albertian, who resigned in June.

When it comes to keeping supply chain and logistics operations as efficient as possible, retailers are getting smart. Using centralized cloud platforms and business intelligence solutions, merchants can achieve real-time inventory awareness and supply chain operational data that improves overall front- and back-end performance. Here are three examples:

It’s no secret that today’s consumers have busy lives. And, while online retailers may have the convenience edge, e-commerce simply cannot offer the experience found in physical spaces. Smart mixed-use developers are capitalizing by filling the gap — plugging in a wide range of components, such as entertainment, new-to-market stores, hospitality, residences and offices to make brick-and-mortar far more compelling than a computer experience.

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Size: Nine city blocks, 600,000 sq. ft.

Owner: The Cordish Companies

Key Tenants: Jos. A. Bank, Zafar Salon, Spa & Boutique, Envolve Boutique, The Garment District KC, Cosentino’s Downtown Market, Yard House, Alamo Drafthouse, Howl at the Moon and more

In its 11th year, the Top Redevelopers survey remains relevant as more shopping center companies redevelop than build anew — although the redevelop versus develop scales are more in balance now than they were five years ago.

The top executive at Gap Inc.’s fastest growing division, Old Navy, has resigned to become CEO of Ralph Lauren.

Gap Inc. said that Stefan Larsson would step down as global president of Old Navy effective October 2, 2015, and the division would be led on an interim basis by Jill Stanton, executive VP of global product at Old Navy.

As the holidays approach, retailers are hoping the convenience and immediacy of e-commerce will prompt high volumes of online gift purchases.

But according to a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers from e-gift software provider Loop Commerce, there are some common problems that make consumers hesitate to buy gifts online.

It’s only October, but the holiday forecasts are starting to pour in. At this point out, it looks like it will be a “modest” season, with Deloitte (whose forecast, unlike some others, includes the month of January) predicting a 3.5% to 4% increase in sales over last year.