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Ezra Dabah is no stranger to children’s wear. As the former chairman and CEO of The Children’s Place, he helped create a billion-dollar retail powerhouse. Dabah left the company in 2007, but he returned to the kids fashion business with Ruum American Kid’s Wear, a fashion-forward upmarket concept that bowed in 2012 and operates 24 stores, primarily in malls.

Austin, Texas – Consumers who didn’t get what they wanted for the holidays are taking matters into their own hands. According to new research from digital deals site RetailMeNot, 81% of consumers plan to shop end-of-year sales.   Of these shoppers taking advantage of post-holiday savings, more than half (63%) plan to shop for themselves. Millennials are especially interested in after-Christmas sales, as 92% of respondents 18 to 34 years old said they plan to shop during this time.    

Female executives make their mark on the world of retail IT

It’s no secret that neither the retail industry nor the technology industry has exactly achieved parity when it comes to granting women access to top-level decision-making positions. According to a report from IIC Partners, 64% of retailers said their senior executive team was less than 25% female — despite the fact that women drive a whopping 85% of all consumer purchases.

Women are famously underrepresented in technology.

The 2014 holiday season has shown how shoppers’ growing preference for e-commerce can be challenging for retailers. By offering customers free shipping and ever-faster delivery, and by handling the higher rates of return that often come with e-commerce, retailers potentially face either reduced profit margins or loss in market share if they don’t keep up with customer preferences.

As they plan for 2015, many retailers will consider how they can provide a seamless customer experience that fundamentally helps them to maintain or improve profit margins.

Amazon is poised to set new sales records in 2015 after using the allure of free shipping to expose 10 million people to the wide range of benefits that are part of its $99 Prime service.

The key benefit of Prime is unlimited free two day shipping on roughly 20,000 items so offering a trial version of Prime during the time sensitive holiday season could prove to be an excellent tactic to bolster the ranks of paid Prime membership and drive long term loyalty.

Guitar Center has chosen retailing veteran Darrell Webb to be the company's new president and CEO. From 2011 to 2013, Webb served as chairman and CEO of the Sports Authority.   Webb has more than 30 years of experience in retailing and has led several multibillion dollar companies through periods of rapid growth.  

Los Angeles – Change is occurring at American Apparel Inc., and it may be coming from external as well as internal sources. The board of directors of American Apparel has confirmed that it has received an indication of interest to acquire the struggling company for $1.30 to $1.40 per share.    The identity of the potential buyer has not been disclosed, but in a press release American Apparel said it “takes these matters seriously, and will evaluate this proposal in the ordinary course of business. 

Gap has appointed a new CEO. Art Peck, currently president of the company’s growth, innovation and digital division, will succeed Glenn Murphy as the company’s next executive chief, effective Feb. 1, 2015.

The company said that after seven years in his role, Murphy made the personal decision to leave the company at the end of the fiscal year. Under Murphy’s stewardship, the company acquired new brands and globalized its business by expanding store locations from 10 to 50 countries, including China.