Department Store

The fire is out, but its effects will linger.   Gap Inc. on Thursday reported a 3% decline in same-store sales for September, and said it expects the fire that occurred at the end of August at its distribution center in Fishkill, New York, will negatively impact its October comp-sales by approximately 3 percentage points and also have a negative impact on its comp-sales results in its fourth quarter.   

TRENDING STORES: PetSmart debuted a new store concept that puts a big emphasis on pet services. The 7,400-sq.-ft. PetSmart Pet Spa, in Oceanside, N.Y., is decidedly smaller than PetSmart’s typical footprint and features a self-service dog wash, a grooming salon and a coffee bar-lounge area. The overall modern design includes a circular “concierge” desk with a bakery full of dog treats.…Amazon Books plans to open its fourth location, a 7,200-sq.-ft. store in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

Retailers, developers attempt to turn shopping centers into gathering places with stores

Digital moves fast. Business people who disregard the devastating waves of changes it leaves will inevitably be engulfed by them. Consider this rising marketplace tsunami detected by Deloitte Consulting:

ModCloth, the online apparel retailer known for its indie and vintage-inspired styles, is opening up its first permanent store.   The company will open a 4,000-sq.-ft. location in Austin, Texas, in November, Bloomberg reported. Other locations are likely to follow.  

Mid-America Real Estate reported it has arranged the sale of the Fairlane Meadows Shopping Center in Dearborn, Michigan, to Time Equities for $20.6 million. The seller was Ramco-Gershenson Property Trust.   The 157,225-sq.-ft. center is situated within a residential development of the same name. The store roster includes Best Buy, Citi Trends, David’s Bridal, Five Below, and Dollar Tree. It is shadow-anchored by Target and Burlington Coat Factory.  

Planning is well under way for the 53rd annual SPECS conference, which will be held at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Fla., March 12–14, 2017. The event is produced by Chain Store Age and is attended by retail and foodservice executives involved in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of stores and restaurants nationwide.

Kohl’s Corp. has joined the ranks of Walmart, Starbucks and other companies to offer its own mobile payments app.    The retailer launched Kohl’s Pay on Wednesday, hoping to speed up checkout in its stores. Using the app, shoppers can integrate their Kohl’s private label credit card and their Yes2You Rewards member number directly in the app’s mobile wallet. The technology also saves earned Kohl’s Cash and Yes2You Rewards.  

Ascena Retail Group, whose brands include Ann Taylor, Justice, and Lane Bryant, announced organizational changes expected to provide cost-savings of $100 million to $150 million by fiscal 2019.   The changes will see a number of executives leave the company, although Ascena did not disclose who would be leave. Also, Brian Lynch, CEO and president of Justice, has been appointed company COO.