Department Store

London - Dixons Carphone plc has selected Reflexis workforce management solutions to further enhance its customer service offering and increase employee involvement in labor management processes. The retailer will implement the solutions in its 500 Currys, PC World, and Dixons Travel Stores.

After an 18-month review including live trials with multiple vendors, Dixons selected Reflexis Workforce Manager, Reflexis Time and Attendance, and Reflexis Advanced Analytics and Reporting.

New York - With gas prices down 31% since June 2014 and oil prices tumbling to their lowest levels in several years, American consumer confidence has improved dramatically. According to the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Report, in fourth quarter 2014 U.S. consumer confidence went up 12 percentage points year-over-year.

Minneapolis -- Shorenstein Properties LLC and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th announced that Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th has signed a lease for 40,321 sq. ft. in the retail portion of Minneapolis City Center, continuing the fashion retailer’s 25-year presence in downtown Minneapolis. The new store is slated to open April 2016.

“This city has been a strong market for us, and Minneapolis City Center provides us with a vibrant location in which to serve our exceedingly loyal customers,” said Jonathan Greller, president of Outlets, HBC.

Overall holiday shopping season sales numbers have been rolling in, and the news confirms what many retail real estate analysts (including myself) suspected: 2014 holiday sales were strong. Nothing earth-shattering — but plenty good enough to chalk this one up as a win. There were some bright and not-so-bright spots (December sales were weaker than expected, for example, and numbers didn’t hit some of the more optimistic overall projections), but the takeaway is that we did see the anticipated increase that the industry was looking for.

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Mall owner Macerich is hosting a large-scale, week-long public event at its Scottsdale Fashion Square property, as a tie-in to the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIX showdown on Feb. 1 between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Fan Fest Scottsdale, held Jan. 26-Feb. 1, is designed to attract thousands of fans converging on metro Phoenix for pro football's biggest game of the year.  

New York -- Uniqlo will enter Canada in the fall of 2016, opening a store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto, and one at the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Uniqlo currently operates some 1,500 stores, with locations in Japan, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and the United States.

Things didn’t work for Target in Canada, but that hasn’t deterred Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., from announcing plans to enter the market with its UNIQLO format.

The company’s first stores aren’t expected to open until the fall of 2016 when two flagship locations offering budget priced apparel measuring 24,000 and 28,000 square feet are introduced in Toronto.

At a time when omnichannel retailing is more important than ever for retailers, Gap Inc. is shutting down one of its digital brands.

Gap Inc. said it is dropping its Piperlime channel so the apparel maker and retailer can focus on fixing the problems plaguing the Gap and Banana Republic brands.