Department Store

High-end department store Von Maur plans to open its 30th location on October 18 in Oklahoma City. The new location will be the company’s first in the state and will be part of the city’s Quail Springs Mall.

The new store will open in a space that used to house a Sears, and will undergo a complete facelift. Von Maur will create a brick façade on the exterior and sell brands like Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss and Coach.

DreamWorks Animation makes its official foray into the retail space with the launch of DreamPlace, a state-of-the-art reimagining of the holiday retail experience slated to be unveiled at select GGP and Forest malls this holiday season.

DreamPlace is a 2,000-sq.-ft. holiday cottage and combines the latest technology with magical storytelling from creative minds behind such hit franchises as Shrek, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon. DreamPlace reimagines one of the signature moments of childhood – meeting Santa Claus.

Fashionable new product assortments and innovative customers conveniences supported by clever marketing are being used by Sears and Kmart to entice parents and students this back-to-school season.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears’ new 'Back to School, Back to You' campaign offers members of its Shop Your Way loyalty program the ability to communicate one-on-one with a store associate through the program’s mobile app or website. Associates respond directly to individual inquiries.

Urban Outfitters has gone big — really big — in New York City, opening a 57,000-sq.-ft. “lifestyle center” store in Manhattan’s Herald Square area. The space, the brand’s largest location to date, is big on in-store shops and includes such extras as a hair salon, bookshop, coffee bar and photography shop (with a booth for printing Instagram snapshots). All this is featured along with Urban’s menswear, womenswear and home collections.

Davenport, Iowa -- Von Maur Department Stores will open its 30th store, at Quail Springs Mall in northern Oklahoma City, on Oct. 18. The split-level, 150,000-sq.-ft. store will be the company's first location in Oklahoma.

Located at the mall's former Sears location, the store will undergo a complete remodel in order to feature Von Maur's signature exterior brick facade, which includes arching entryways accented by copper cupolas.

Sears Canada has added EVP and operating chief Klaudio Leshnjani to the board of directors, following the sudden passing of H Ronald Weissman.

Weissman has served as a member of board since Nov. 2013 and was a member of the audit committee.

Leshnjani held several executive positions with the company, including EVP, chief administrative officer and general counsel, EVP, financial and home services, human resources, general counsel and corporate communications and SVP and general counsel.

Cambridge, U.K. -- Grafton Shopping Centre, Cambridge, is hoping to dazzle shoppers with a “virtual” employee who greets customers when they enter the mall. The shopping center is using the Tensator Virtual Assistant, innovative technology which projects a life-like image of a person.

The display interacts with customers, answering common questions and promoting mall offers. This is the very first use of the technology in a United Kingdom shopping mall.