Department Store

New York - Macys.com has successfully deployed the SAP InfiniteInsight solution to help better understand customer buying behavior and optimize email and website marketing campaigns. The company had a number of variables to understand when it came to understanding likelihood of a customer to spend in a certain product category.

Chico's FAS is looking to establish a Canadian footprint, and plans in late August to open three boutiques in Ontario at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket and Mapleview Shopping Centre in Burlington.

The Chico's brand was founded in 1983 as a boutique selling Mexican folk art and cotton sweaters from a store on Florida's Sanibel Island. Today, Chico's sells exclusively designed, private branded clothing for women.

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Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. CEO Kevin Mansell is said to be seeking a new chief merchandising officer who would be next in line to take the CEO reins.

A report by the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, suggested that Mansell is scouting for a new chief merchant to not only take the merchandising lead for the discount department store chain but also to serve as the key player in a potential succession plan. The chief merchant slot has been vacant since the departure of Donald Brennan last March.

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Michael Jeffries saw his pay shrink 72% in 2013, according to a filing by the company on Tuesday.

The teen retailer has recorded declining sales and profits, and Jeffries has come under fire. His total compensation last year was $2.24 million, down from $8.16 million in the previous year and $48.1 million in Abercrombie’s fiscal 2011. He was paid more than $20 million a year in the three years before that, according to the report.  

Cambridge, Mass. -- An ongoing debate in retail is whether it’s a better strategy to use markdowns or everyday low prices. Research by MIT Sloan School of Management visiting professor Özalp Özer and his colleague Karen Zheng at MIT Sloan supports basing pricing strategy on consumer behavior compared to a one-size-fits-all approach.

DSW has closed on its acquisition of Town Shoes Limited, the largest footwear and accessories retailer in Canada, for $68.7 million (USD) in cash. DSW acquired a 49.2% interest in Town Shoes from certain clients of Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) and other minority shareholders.

DSW's initial stake provides 50% voting control and board representation equal to the primary remaining shareholder, Callisto Capital. Peter J. Solomon Company served as financial advisor to DSW Inc.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop said that Michael Shaffer has been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

Shaffer, 51, will serve as chairman of the audit committee and a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee. He is executive VP, COO and CFO for New York-based PVH Corp. where he oversees the retail division, treasury, corporate finance, information technology, and logistics services.