Department Store

Coach taps former Saks exec as new finance head
Coach announced the appointment of Kevin G. Wills as CFO, effective no later than March 2017. Wills joins the upscale specialty retailer from AlixPartners LLP, a global business advisory firm, where he has served as managing director and CFO since March 2014.
HEIGHTENED SECURITY
Preparedness is key for mall owners, retailers
“Just wanting to make sure, No. 1, it is a safe environment; and No. 2, everyone knows it is a safe environment.”
That was the comment Mark Peterson made to a local news station in Rockford, Ill., regarding his top priorities after undergoing what could easily qualify as every mall manager’s biggest nightmare.

Innovation in Spotlight at X/SPECS

Innovation is today’s buzzword. And it was all the talk at Chain Store Age’s X/SPECS 2016, as key executives from some of the nation’s leading retail and restaurant chains zeroed in on real-world strategies designed to innovate stores and elevate customer experiences.
Expanding North

DLC Management Corp.’s grocery-anchored shopping centers can be found in places such as Dallas; Milwaukee; Columbus, Ohio; and Birmingham, Ala.; but the company has a special stake in the Northeast. In October, DLC closed the biggest deal in its history, acquiring a passel of 16 centers, all but one of them in New York state. Chain Store Age Real Estate Editor Al Urbanski talked with DLC CEO Adam Ifshin and asked him what retailers need to know about the Northeast market.
Macy’s details store closings, restructuring amid poor holiday sales

Macy’s gave more information about its previously announced store closing plans as it unveiled a series of actions to streamline its store portfolio, intensify cost efficiency efforts and execute its real estate strategy.
Holiday spending surpasses expectations

Initial reports about holiday spending bode well for retailers. Consumers spent 16% more on holiday purchases this year than in 2015, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers Post-Holiday Shopping Survey.
Holiday spending better than expected

Initial reports about holiday spending bode well for retailers. Consumers spent 16% more on holiday purchases this year than in 2015, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers Post-Holiday Shopping Survey.
Gracious Homes New York location up for grabs

Gracious Homes’ lease on a 17,000-sq.-ft. store in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan is on the auction block. The location, which has 70 ft. of frontage on 25th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue is being made available at a “substantially below market” rate, according to Andy Graiser, co-president of A&G Realty Partners, which is handling the auction for the retailer that recently filed for bankruptcy protection.
Iconix Brand unloads Sharper Image

Iconix Brand Group has sold the rights to the Sharper Image brand and related intellectual property assets to the company that recently bought FAO Schwarz from Toys “R” Us. Iconix sold Sharper Image to ThreeSixty Group, which manufactures and distributes toys and other consumer products to stores nationwide, for $100 million in cash. ThreeSixty is also Sharper Image’s largest licensee.
Report: Sears lines up more credit from its CEO

Sears Holdings Corp. has received another lifeline courtesy of CEO Eddie Lampert. The struggling retailer said it has received loan, called a secured letter of credit, for $200 million, with an option to expand the amount to as much as $500 million with the consent of lenders.