Department Store

The interim CFO of Neiman Marcus has resigned after seven months on the job.   Michael Fung will step down from his position as the luxury retailer’s interim CFO and COO, effective June 30. Fung temporarily left his retirement to join the company on an interim basis in November 2016.   

Mid-America Real Estate has been tapped to handle the marketing and leasing of the Macy’s building being redeveloped in downtown Minneapolis.   Located on the corner of South 7th and Nicollet Mall, the landmark store that was originally Dayton’s will tie together its street and skyway levels and fill them with entertainment providers, a food hall, and traditional retailers new to the market. 601w Companies and United Properties are the developers.  

It's official: Crate and Barrel has confirmed that CEO Doug Diemoz has left the company.   Crate and Barrel announced Tuesday that board chair Neela Montgomery will become the new chief executive, effective August 1. In the interim, Montgomery will continue in her current position, working closely with Crate and Barrel president and chief merchant Steve 'Woody' Woodward, and COO Mike Relich.  

The growth of e-commerce and the increasing emphasis on delivery speed as well as pick-up services for retail goods will likely precipitate a convergence of industrial distribution and retail real estate.   

As retail operators return to work this week after what was hopefully a busy Memorial Day weekend for them, they should be encouraged by some rare good news out of Washington, D.C. The industry had some big wins last week on very important issues. Republican House leaders wisely decided to remove language from the popular CHOICE Act that would have repealed the debit card swipe fee reforms the industry fought hard to pass in 2010.  

A premium brand born from the celebration of colder climates, Mackage (Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto) was named Store in the Year in the Retail Design Institute’s 46th annual International Store Design Competition. The awards were presented during a gala celebration on Wednesday, May 24, in New York City.

As the International Council of Shopping Centers shut the doors on its RECon show in Las Vegas this week, Chain Store Age asked top brokers and third-party managers for their take on the temperature of physical retail. Not quite sick, not quite well, but certainly out of rehab and hard at work on recovery, was the general diagnosis.  

There was a glimmer of good news in Sears Holdings Corp.'s first quarter earnings report.