Department Store

An upscale department store retailer has a new way to bridge the gap between its online and offline shopping experiences.    Nordstrom is rolling out its Reserve Online & Try In-store service to approximately 40 stores across the country. As the program’s name implies, the service allows customers to select items online and try them on in person at their nearest Nordstrom store.  

Restaurants, off-price retailers, dollar stores and furniture outlets are likely to remain firmly in the brick-and-mortar corner even with the continued rise of online shopping.   That is according to a new report by JLL, which explores the relationship between how shoppers value goods and the way 13 retail categories will be sold.  

Chains close stores, and chains open stores. Legendary cataloger and online retailer L.L. Bean is one of the latter, opening its 33rd store outside of Maine and its fourth in the state of Virginia.   This week’s debut came at The Shops at Stonefield, a 265,000-sq.-ft. lifestyle center in Charlottesville that was acquired by O’Connor Capital Partners last year.  

As much as Sears deserves credit for the various actions it has been taking to shore up the company, there is no denying that this (Sears second quarter financials) is a miserable set of numbers. Indeed, the precipitous drop in comparable sales and the continued lack of progress on profit suggests the company isn't moving far or fast enough to ensure its long-term survival.  

An 11-year veteran of Canadian department store giant HBC is stepping down.    HBC, whose banners include Hudson's Bay, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor, announced that Don Watros, president of HBC International, has made the decision to leave, effective September 29, 2017. The company did not name a successor.   

Sears Holdings Corp.'s second-quarter earnings beat the Street as it benefitted from cost-saving initiatives. But it continued to struggle with weak traffic and declining sales, and added 28 more locations to its long list of store closings.    Sears reported that its second-quarter loss narrowed to $251 million, or $2.34 per share, in the quarter ended July 29, helped by cost savings resulting from the streamlining of operations and store closings.  

J.Crew Group named an internal associate as CFO as the retailer continues to struggle to turn around its namesake brand.   The retailer announced that Vincent Zanna, previously senior VP of finance and treasurer, has been promoted to CFO and treasurer, effective immediately. He will continue to report to Michael Nicholson, who was previously CFO and COO, and now serves as president and COO.    

Abercrombie & Fitch on Thursday posted a much smaller than expected second quarter loss and better than expected sales amid strong demand for its Hollister brand.    The company reported a net loss of $15.5 million, or $.23 per share, for the quarter ended July 29, compared to $13.1 million, or $.19 per share last year. Excluding certain one-time items, Abercrombie posted a net loss of $11.0 million, or $.16 per share, compared to $16.8 million last year. Analysts on average had expected a loss of $.33.