Department Store

Michael J. Powers, a leasing veteran and principal in a progressive hair salon concept, has been promoted to senior VP and head of leasing at Starwood Retail Partners.   Prior to joining Starwood as VP of leasing in 2013, Powers helped found Salonspace, a concept that seeks to provide hair stylists with a workplace environment they can approach on their own terms. He is a leasing veteran of Simon Property Group, Steiner + Associates, and Glimcher Realty Trust.  

This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. Since vacancies on the bench are rare and the political stakes so high, few spectacles in Washington D.C. invite this level of drama. He was confirmed by the committee but when his nomination eventually goes to the floor of the Senate for a vote, the real fun will begin. (See “nuclear option.”) Lost in the hype is what his eventual seat on the court will mean to retail operators.  

The woman whose quirky, eclectic personal style came to define J. Crew — and who is the No.2 executive at the company — is leaving.    Jenna Lyons, president and executive creative director, is stepping down from the struggling retailer. She will remain with J.Crew as a creative advisor until her contract expires in December 2017.     

  A just-released analysis of the U.S. retail sector offers positive news for an industry that has been subject to some gloomy assessments in recent times.   Despite the rash of recent Chapter 11 filings and store closings, the U.S. retail sector as a whole remains incredibly strong and shows no signs of slowing down, according to a report by business intelligence firm Creditsafe USA.  

Officials in New Rochelle, New York, want the right kind of retail partners for an aggressive redevelopment of its downtown, and it’s counting on big data to ferret them out.

The town has engaged Fort Worth-based Buxton to employ its Scout real estate analytics platform to identify restaurants and stores that will best synch with the dining and shopping habits of its residents.

The Jet Anywhere rewards program is preparing for its final descent.   As of May 1, Jet.com is pulling the plug on a program that rewards consumers for shopping on its retail portal. As shoppers enter the Jet Anywhere e-commerce portal, they can click through and shop at more than 600 retail partners, including Foot Locker, Land’s End, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdales, among others.   

Trusted national news sources such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times continue to augur the fall the mall, but many American towns won’t give them up without a fight.   One such is Racine, Wisconsin, whose City Plan Commission advanced a scheme to revitalize the failing Regency Mall by forming a tax increment district (TID) around the 134-acre site that includes out-lots housing Target, Home Depot, Toys R Us, and the High Ridge Center.  

On a recent trip to Seattle, my luggage was lost and I found myself without anything to wear except for the clothes on my back. I urgently needed a suit for a business meeting and decided Nordstrom was the best place to start given I was in the retailer’s hometown.