Department Store

Express CEO Michael Weiss was optimistic about the retailer’s progress in the second quarter, especially considering the difficult environment the company has been dealing with in recent months.

Chile is the top destination for emerging market retail expansion, followed by China, where retail sales totaled a whopping $3.7 trillion in 2013, according to the 2014 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index.

With Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico also in the index of top emerging economies ready for retail expansion, Latin America continues to show strength as a regional retail growth market.

Famous Footwear parent company Brown Shoe said it believes stepped up omnichannel efforts will drive sales this back-to-school season sales after reporting better than expected second quarter results.

Earlier promotional shift, late Hanukkah to affect shopping season

With each passing year, it seems like the twinkly lights, newspaper inserts and door busters galore start earlier and earlier. The 2014 holiday season will be no different. As stores pull out all the stops to offer holiday promotions as early as possible this upcoming season, consumers will continue to shift their shopping dollars to November.

When the clock strikes midnight on Halloween, it will kick off the official holiday shopping season, which is measured from Nov.

Los Angeles -- Guess on Wednesday reported second-quarter net earnings of $22 million, a 50.5% decrease compared to adjusted net earnings of $44.3 million for the year ago period. The retailer, which also cuts its fiscal year outlet, noted that soft traffic and promotional activity have continued to put its North American stores under pressure.

Newgistics, a leading provider of end-to-end e-commerce solutions for top retailers and brands, has added Andrea Weiss and Robert Rosenblatt to its board of directors.

The company said that it plans to leverage the duo’s first-hand knowledge of what retailers need to compete in an increasingly omnichannel environment.

Sebring, Fla. -- BV Belk Properties has retained JLL Retail to manage and lease Lakeshore Mall, a 490,000-sq.-ft. retail center located in Sebring, Florida. The mall was built in 1992, and is the only enclosed regional mall within 40 miles of Sebring.
 
“I see nothing but a good future for Lakeshore Mall, and I am thrilled at the opportunity to take a steady center and make it extraordinary for locals and passer-byes with the support of JLL,” said B.V. Belk Jr., owner of BV Belk Properties.

Chicago – A former bank building in Chicago is the planned site for a new mixed use retail/residential complex. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Novak Construction Company intends to build a 60,000-sq.-ft. ground floor retail center with 80 to 160 residential units located above it.