Department Store

Every year, 30,000 retail industry professionals descend on Manhattan for the National Retail Federation’s “Big Show.    It’s a once-a-year opportunity to take the pulse of one of our most familiar industries. Amazon conspicuously abstains from the event, but it is nonetheless the focus of many conversations, distracting some retailers from the real opportunity: innovations in customer experience. Thankfully, this year a healthy shift seems to have begun.  

Banana Republic will be giving shoppers a chance to buy its Olivia Palermo designs right after they appear on the runway.   Upholding its “see now, buy now” presentation model, the apparel retailer will enable customers to purchase pieces from its Spring 2017 collection at pop-up shops at select Banana Republic stores on Feb. 9. The collection is based on the street-style of fashionista Olivia Palermo.  

A retail veteran is leaving Brooks Brothers to join Destination XL Group.   The men’s specialty apparel retailer has named Sahal Laher as its senior VP, chief digital and information officer, effective Monday, Jan. 30.   Laher, Brooks Brothers’ former executive VP of digital innovation and technology and global CIO, will be the principal architect and leader of DXL’s digital commerce strategies and IT/MIS operations. Laher will also be a member of the company’s executive committee.

Groundbreaking on a 500,000-sq.-ft. shopping center in Southern California has been postponed due to changes in the developer’s plan ‘and a need for improvements to the surrounding roadway.   The 50-acre site in Murrieta, a town of 103,000 people located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, was purchased by a limited partnership last year for $18 million. The owners are working with Caltrans for improvements needed on nearby Winchester Road.  

A veteran retail merchandiser is leaving Hudson’s Bay to join Stein Mart.   The off-price announced that MaryAnne Morin will join Stein Mart as president, effective Feb. 6, with responsibility for merchandising and marketing.      

The CEO of embattled Gymboree Corp. is stepping down.    The children’s apparel retailer said that Mark Breitbard will step down as chief executive once a successor has been named. He will assume the role of chairman of the board, effective February 1, 2017.  

Finish Line is cutting its losses related to its specialty running gear unit.   The sportswear retailer has sold its JackRabbit specialty running store division to CriticalPoint Capital LLC, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm.   

It looks like it’s curtain time for The Wet Seal.   The struggling teen retailer is closing its 171 stores, along with its headquarters in Irvine, Calif., after being unable to obtain the necessary cash infusion or find a buyer, according to several media reports.