Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Seattle -- Online retailer Zulily announced today that Brian Swartz has been appointed senior VP and CFO, effective June 1, 2015.

Swartz brings more than 20 years of operational and financial experience to Zulily. For the last six years, he served as senior VP and CFO of Apollo Education Group, Inc., a private-sector education company. Swartz joined Apollo from EaglePicher Incorporated, a technology and industrial products and services company, where he served as VP and corporate controller.

Global Brands Group named former Ann Taylor and May Company executive Adrienne Lazarus as CEO of The Frye Company, one of the holding company’s premier controlled brands and what Lazarus contends could become an American global lifestyle brand.

The company said the appointment of a veteran retailer such as Lazarus reflects a strategic focus on the 150 year old brand.

Former Apple and JCPenney executive Ron Johnson’s career has been marked by spectacular success and failure, which is why his new retail venture called Enjoy is of interest, even if it borrows heavily from a service Best Buy launched more than a decade ago.

Billed as a “a whole new way to buy and enjoy technology,” Johnson secured $30 million in funding last fall and launched the service on Wednesday in the San Francisco area and debuts May 13 in New York.

The fashions and style of the American West are apparently resonating with shoppers of the Sundance Catalog, as the company is gearing up for big retail expansion.

Flash sale site Zulily is making “significant progress” toward growth, accord to its CEO, and moving ahead with the launch of a redesigned website.

The company reported that revenue in the first quarter ended in March rose nearly 30%, year over year, to $306.6 million, missing consensus for $314 million, yielding EPS of a penny per share.

HSN’s push to make it easier for smartphone shoppers to buy its products online was successful in the first quarter, with the multichannel retailer reporting a big increase in mobile sales.

Digital sales at HSN grew 18%, with mobile sales increasing 31%. HSN earned $0.63 per share in the first quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.58 per share. Similarly, revenue of $841.9 million was better than the $826.08 million analysts expected. 

In an effort to highlight retail’s entrepreneurial spirit, NRF is hosting a night of shopping in the nation’s capital.

The National Retail Federation’s “Retail’s Night Out” will be a celebration of Small Business Week with local merchants and national brands set up in one-night-only pop-up shops in Washington, D.C., on May 6. The event will also feature live music, local food trucks and a red carpet.

Salt Lake City -- Sundance Catalog is gearing up for retail expansion, with plans to open two locations in 2015: one in Edina Galleria in Edina, Minnesota, in September, and a second store in Dallas’ NorthPark Center in November. Up to five additional stores are planned for 2016.

Store closures led Office Depot sales to decline in the first quarter, but the retailer still reported a sizable bump in profit.

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Former J.C. Penney CEO and Apple Store guru Ron Johnson on Wednesday launched a high-end, high-tech gadget shopping site that comes with a personal touch. Called Enjoy, and initially available only in the San Francisco Bay area and, on May 13 in New York City, the new service bills itself as a “personal service platform.” It allows shoppers to buy select consumer electronics online and then, for no charge, sends an expert to install and set up the product at the consumer’s home.