Department Store

Target has appointed Peter Glusker as SVP, new business integration and operations. Glusker will lead the integration of new acquisitions and comes onboard just two weeks after the company terminated chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

New York -- From indie favorites to mass-market British brands, here are seven retailers getting ready to make their U.S. brick-and-mortar debut:

1. Nasty Gal

While other retailers saw sales affected by a winter that overstayed its welcome, Dillard’s marked its 15th consecutive quarter of positive sales.

Despite weak sales in home and furniture, Dillard’s said sales trends in the first quarter were strongest in the men’s apparel and accessories category and the juniors’ and children’s apparel category followed by ladies’ accessories and lingerie.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc.’s net income for the first quarter fell 3% to $140 million from $145 million in the year ago period, reflecting heavy investments in technology to support omnichannel initiatives and the retailer’s debut in Canada. Its earnings still topped Street views. The company plans to open three full-line stores and 17 Nordstrom Rack stores during the remainder of fiscal 2014

Nordstrom’s full line stores saw first quarter same store sales decline but the department store operator’s off price Rack division is doing just fine.

New York -- Dillard’s marked its 15th consecutive quarter of positive sales.

Despite weak sales in home and furniture, Dillard’s said sales trends in the first quarter were strongest in the men’s apparel and accessories category and the juniors’ and children’s apparel category followed by ladies’ accessories and lingerie.

The retailer reported total merchandise sales for the quarter of $1.539 billion, a 1% increase from $1.530 billion for the prior-year period. Comparable-store sales increased 2%.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association and several of America's most recognized retail brands have launched the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center.

The R-CISC is an independent organization, the centerpiece of which is a Retail Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Among those companies participating with and supportive of the R-CISC are American Eagle Outfitters, Gap, J. C. Penney, Lowe's Companies, Nike, Safeway, Target, VF Corp. and Walgreens.  

Things took a wacky turn in the retail world this week as JCPenney reported a 6.2% same store sales increase and a huge gross margin expansion while Macy’s, Kohl’s and Walmart stumbled.