Department Store

Build-A-Bear's recent push to reinvigorate its fading brand seems to be working as the retailer reported a big increase in same store sales in the second quarter. 

Luxury handbags seem to be as common these days as smartphones, and therein lies the problem for rival brands Coach, Michael Kors and Kate Spade, who all reported quarterly results this week.

As these three luxury heavyweights battle it out against brand saturation and bored shoppers midway through the year, it seems as though only Kate Spade has all the right moves.

New York -- The nation’s premier luxury department store company wants to return to the public arena.

Neiman Marcus Group has filed plans for an initial public offering — for the second time in two years — of $100 million (the sum is a placeholder that doesn’t necessarily reflect the final offering amount.) The company said it would trade under the ticker symbol NMG.

Neiman Marcus plans to grow sales by investing in technology, working with new designers and expanding its footprint, according to IPO paperwork the retailer filed with the SEC.

Denver – Whatever the cool kids (and their families) are doing this summer, back-to-school shopping does not appear to be on the agenda.

An ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research shows that retailers will continue to see the number of back-to-school shoppers in their stores drop.

In 2014, the data showed 36% of shoppers would not be shopping back-to-school, and this year the study is showing a 7% increase in those not shopping for back-to-school.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer is on the move in Wisconsin.  

Continuing an estimated $750 million investment in Wisconsin, Meijer on Tuesday opened two more superstores in the state. The retailer announced plans to open two to three new Wisconsin locations per year through 2019.

Meijer, which now operates 222 stores, entered Wisconsin just six weeks ago, with two stores. The retailer traditionally focused its growth on five states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

Shopko Stores is looking more closely at how it uses store space and how customers fill their baskets.

The retailer has renewed its license of APT’s Test & Learn and Market Basket Analyzer software and APT’s Space Planning Optimizer software. 

Greenwich, Conn. -- Starwood Retail Partners, the retail operating platform formed by Starwood Capital Group, announced that it has named Angela Aman CFO, effective Aug. 10. Aman brings more than a decade of experience as a financial executive to her newly created position, including having spent the last four years as CFO and treasurer of Retail Properties of America, Inc.

Aman will be responsible for strategic planning, implementing and management of all accounting and financial functions, as well as investor relations and partner reporting.