Department Store

Kohl’s Corp. has appointed an ex-Starbucks executive as its next chief merchandising and customer officer.

The retailer announced that Michelle Gass has been appointed to the newly created principal officer position of CMCO. In this new capacity, Gass has assumed oversight of all of Kohl's merchandising, planning and allocation, and product development functions. She will continue to report to Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, chief executive officer and president.

New York — The formerly high-flying J.Crew Group has come down to earth, a victim of fashion miscues and the new competitive landscape. What’s more, the retailer has $1.5 billion in debt on its books, the New York Times reported. Click here for the story.

The Men's Wearhouse reported a dapper first quarter on the same day the company inked a 10-year deal with Macy's to sell tuxedoes.

The retailer posted net income for the first quarter ended May 2 of $10.4 million or $0.21 per share, compared to $16.5 million or $0.34 per share for the year-ago quarter. Net sales for the first quarter rose 40.4% to $885.09 million from $630.47 million in the same quarter last year. 

Fremont, Calif. — Men's Wearhouse on Thursday announced it had signed a 10-year agreement with Macy's to operate men's tuxedo rental shops inside 300 Macy’s locations. The shops are expected to be located in or near the men’s department.

Men's Wearhouse will begin operating 17 pilot tuxedo shops in fall 2015,  and expects the remaining shops to be open by fall 2016. Macy's and Men's Wearhouse will also collaborate to develop a digital tuxedo rental shop on macys.com.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. — Kohl’s on Thursday announced a series of organizational changes, including the promotion of Michelle Gass to the newly created principal officer position of chief merchandising and customer officer. Gass joined Kohl’s in 2013 as chief customer officer from Starbucks, where she is credited with playing a key role in the coffee giant’s turnaround  several years back.    

Restoration Hardware earnings surged in the first quarter on strong sales, giving a boost to the company as it embarks on expanding its business with new stores with larger showrooms.

For the first quarter ended May 2, Restoration Hardware reported a profit of $7.2 million, or 17 cents a share, up from $1.8 million, or four cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding tax impacts, a prior-year litigation claim and other items, per-share earnings rose to 23 cents from 18 cents. Revenue increased 15% to $422.4 million.

New York -- J.C. Penney CEO-designee Marvin Ellison, who officially takes over on Aug. 1, outlined three key areas the company will focus on in the coming months in a presentation on Wednesday at the Piper Jaffray conference, The Street reported.  

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The CFO of PetSmart Inc. has been appointed to the board of directors for Crocs Inc.

Carrie Teffner, the executive vice president and chief financial officer for PetSmart Inc., joined the board June 9.

Crocs also announced that current director Peter Jacobi is voluntarily retiring from his position.