Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Altar'd State, a fast-growing women's fashion brand with more than 70 stores, has added to its senior leadership team with two retail veterans.   John Buell has joined Altar'd State as senior VP, CFO. Buell is a 13-year Limited Stores veteran, having most recently served as Interim CEO. Prior to joining Limited, Buell spent 15 years at Sears, Roebuck, and Co.   

Lululemon athletica inc. has promoted Celeste Burgoyne to executive VP, retail, Americas, effective immediately.    Burgoyne has been with lululemon since 2006 and most recently served as senior VP, retail, North America where she was responsible for overseeing all Canadian and U.S. retail. She started her career with Abercrombie & Fitch, where she held various positions during her ten years with the company, including most recently, senior director of stores.  

The first standalone store dedicated to actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s branded collection of shoes and accessories.    

Restoration Hardware reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for the third quarter, but the upscale home furnishings retailer cut its full-year outlook amid slow sales of its holiday collection.    The company also said that its name will change in January to RH, which is the same as its stock ticker.   Restoration Hardware reported net income of $2.5 million. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 19 cents per share.  

Consumers’ demand for stylish workout wear no shows on slowing down.        Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s sales rose 13% to $544.4 million, surpassing Wall Street estimates.   Total comparable sales, which includes comparable store sales and direct to consumer, increased by 7%. Same-store sales rose 4%.      Profit in the quarter was 47 cents a share, excluding some items. Analysts estimated 43 cents on average.    

Starbucks Corp. unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy that calls for major expansion, includes two new store formats, including freestanding bakeries.      The coffee giant said it plans to plans to open approximately 12,000 new stores globally by 2021, including 5,000 cafes in China. The new round of expansion would bring Starbucks’s total store portfolio to approximately 37,000 locations.   

Hoping to lessen the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Sears Holdings and Uber are expanding its Rider Rewards program to 23 new markets.   The service, which launched this fall in New York City and Chicago, enabled Sears Shop Your Way loyalty shoppers to link their memberships to their Uber accounts. Every Uber ride they take earns them $2 in loyalty points.  

The ongoing saga of American Apparel is slowly making its way to a final conclusion.    The beleaguered retailer is seeking court approval to shutter nine poor-performing stores by the end of  December, prior to the auction of its business on Jan. 9, reported The Wall Street Journal, American Apparel filed Chapter 11 in November, its second filing in 15 months.