Department Store

Walmart.com is the only conventional retailer to rank in the monthly Top 50 Web Properties report from comScore Media Metrix, but June traffic to the retailer’s site was below year-ago levels even as e-commerce is hailed as the next growth engine.

Washington, D.C. – Compared to a record-breaking back-to-school shopping season in 2012, this year’s back-to-school season will not be as impressive. New figures from the NRF and Prosper Insights show that families with school-age children will spend an average $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics, down about 8% from $688.62 last year. Total spending on back-to-school is expected to reach $26.7 billion.

J.C. Penney is counting on a familiar blend of promotional tactics for the 2013 back-to-school season after a slate of merchandising initiatives and a free haircut offer ended horribly last year.

The department store retailer is touting the availability of some familiar brands and promotional pricing along with a new Joe Fresh Kids brand, expanded Levi’s assortments, free customization kits with the purchase of backpacks and shoes during August and dedicated landing pages at Jcp.com for key brands such as Arizona, Levi’s and Total Girl.

FREMONT, Calif. — Men's Wearhouse has signed a definitive agreement to acquire JA Holding, the parent company of American clothing brand Joseph Abboud, for approximately $97.5 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments. 

JA Holding is currently majority-owned by funds affiliated with J.W. Childs Associates, L.P. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.

San Francisco – PBteen, a subsidiary of the Pottery Barn brand of Williams-Sonoma Inc., will open its first Annapolis, Md., store at the Westfield Annapolis shopping center on July 20. The store will include the PBteen Design Lab, which allows shoppers to digitally create room designs using drag-and-drop technology on a computer monitor.

Seattle -- Nordstrom has announced plans to open a 35,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom Rack at Palm Beach Outlets now under construction in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the fall of 2014.

Given the choice of shopping at only one retailer for the rest of their lives, millennial parents chose Walmart over several other popular retailers.
The study of the millenials, those age 25 to 34, was conducted by Vision Critical, and not surprisingly showed the demographic group changed purchasing habits and behaviors after starting a family.

The Men’s Wearhouse has signed a definitive agreement to acquire JA Holding, the parent company of the Joseph Abboud clothing brand, for approximately $97.5 million.