Department Store

Fremont, Calif. -- Men's Wearhouse has named Mary Beth Blake as the company's president and chief merchandising officer, effective Sept. 10. She was previously executive VP and chief merchandising officer.

From 2013 to 2014, Blake was executive VP and chief merchandising officer and from 2008 to 2013 she was the president of K&G.

Before joining K&G, she was with Macy's Midwest Division as senior VP, general merchandise manager for men's and children's.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop announced the appointment of Voin Todorovic as the company’s new CFO, effective Sept. 15. He assumes CFO responsibilities at Build-A-Bear Workshop from Tina Klocke, who had been serving as both the company’s CFO and COO. Klocke is leaving to pursue her interests in the not-for-profit business sector. She will remain with the retailer through first quarter 2015 and will retain her position as COO during this time.

New York -- Sears Holdings Corp. said in regulatory filing that it would borrow $400 million from the hedge fund of its CEO, Edward Lampert, who is also the company’s largest shareholder.  

Sears received the first $200 million of the loan from Lampert's ESL Investments on Monday, and expects to receive the remaining amount on Sept. 30.

The company said it would use the money for “general corporate purposes.

New York – Department stores are increasingly using an omnichannel approach to meet the needs of consumers. According to the Digital IQ Index from digital intelligence provider L2, half of department stores offer shoppers a “click and collect” option, 68% allow in-store returns of online purchases, and 25% provide real-time store inventory.

Other notable findings include:

• Seventy-seven percent of department store brands offer a mobile app;

Philadelphia -- The Mills announced plans for a multimillion dollar renovation of Franklin Mills, the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in the Philadelphia region. The redevelopment will transform the center into a completely new shopping experience, and the name of the property has been changed to Philadelphia Mills to herald the transformation.

New York -- Brookstone said its president and CEO, James M. Speltz, has resigned. The specialty retailer appointed Steve Schwartz, the company's chief merchandising officer, to serve as interim president and CEO.

Speltz helped Brookstone emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. Also in June,  a bankruptcy court judge approved its sale to to a consortium of Chinese investors, Sailing Innovation Inc., for $135.7 million.

Cincinnati -- Macy’s Inc. is launching a large number of omnichannel strategies and technologies encompassing stores, online and mobile. In addition to supporting the new Apple Pay mobile payment system, the department store retailer’s new moves include piloting same-day delivery, testing new POS technology and customer service enhancements, and expanding its use of RFID to fashion categories.

Green Bay, Wis. – Shopko is running a six-week Facebook giveaway. Now through Oct. 11, customers can enter to win prize packages from some of Shopko's most popular brands.

To enter, customers can “like” Shopko on Facebook, and then watch for posts on the featured brand of the week with more information on how to sign up. One winner will be randomly selected every Friday and announced on the following Monday.