Department Store

East Rutherford, N.J. -- Cushman & Wakefield’s retail team in New Jersey has taken on three new leasing assignments, with projects spanning the Northern New Jersey market, in Morris, Essex and Hudson counties.

New York -- Aeropostale announced that Julian R. Geiger has rejoined the company as CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Thomas P. Johnson, a former Brooks Brother executive who was appointed to the top spot at Aeropostale after Geiger left his CEO post in 2010.

In 2011, Geiger was named president and CEO of Crumbs Bake Shop. He resigned from Crumbs at the end of December 2013, and rejoined the Aeropostale board in May. (Crumbs closed all its stores in July 2014.)

Long Island City, N.Y. -- Steve Madden has completed the acquisition of privately held Dolce Vita Holdings Inc., which specializes in the design, sourcing and sale of branded and private label footwear. The acquisition was completed for $60.3 million.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation on Monday told the U.S. Supreme Court that the debate over debit card swipe fees is “of staggering importance” and asked the justices to review a ruling that left the Federal Reserve’s cap on the billions of transactions conducted each year at 21 cents rather than reducing it to a lower level.


Nordstrom’s Sarah Jessica Parker line of handbags and shoes will be sold in five more stores this fall, bringing the total number of stores carrying the collection to 30.

The company announced Monday that locations in Troy, Michigan; Bellevue, Washington; Skokie, Illinois; Austin, Texas; and Newport Beach, California would start carrying the film and TV star’s products. To accompany the expansion, Parker will tour three malls from Aug. 21-23 to promote her line.

Despite an increase of 1% in comparable store sales, Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II expressed disappointment in the company’s bottom line performance.

The company’s net sales for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 2 were $1.475 billion, compared to net sales of $1.480 billion for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 3, 2013. Net sales include the operations of the company’s construction business, CDI Contractors.

Little Rock, Ark. – Dillard’s Inc. reported net income of $34.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 5% from $36.5 million the same period the prior year. Increased markdowns and the loss of after-tax credits and gains drove the decline in net income.

Phoenix -- X Team International partner Velocity Retail Group has completed a lease with At Home for a 104,967-sq.-ft. store in Tempe, Arizona. The new At Home concept is owned and operated by home décor retailer Garden Ridge.
     
A décor superstore that provides selections of patio furniture, wall décor, and decorative accents, rugs and housewares, At Home recently opened at Arizona Mills, a Simon shopping center located at the northeast corner of Baseline Road and Interstate 10.