Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Leading footwear manufacturer and retailer Wolverine World Wide plans to close 140 stores in the next 18 months as part of a strategic realignment plan focused on strengthening omnichannel capabilities.

Most of the stores to be closed operate under the company’s Stride Rite banner. Sixty of the units will close by year end with the remainder to close next year, the company said. The disclosure was made in conjunction with the release of solid financial results for the company’s second quarter ended July 14.

New York -- Visa has entered into an agreement with Borderfree, a leading international cross-border e-commerce solutions provider, to offer customers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan, special promotions from retailers in the United States.

Chicago -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Gateway Square in Hinsdale (Chicago MSA), Illinois. The 39,710-sq.-ft. center was purchased for $10 million, excluding closing costs and adjustments, by Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based C P Management, LLC.
 

Visa has entered into a partnership with Borderfree, a leading international cross-border e-commerce solutions provider, to offer customers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan special promotions from retailers in the United States.

New York -- RKF has announced a number of promotions for senior brokerage professionals in its New York City headquarters office. The promotions come closely on the heels of RKF’s expansion of its New York headquarters space at 521 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

By David Rekuc, Marketing Director, Ripen E-commerce

It's three days before the Christmas party and you still don't have that Secret Santa gift for your cousin. You head to the perfume store, hoping for the right present to make up for a year of no calls and absent-minded Facebook likes. You find a gift and check the price online only to see it is 15 bucks cheaper. Do you make the online purchase and risk it getting delivered in time? Or walk out with a more expensive, but safer deal? This is the mindset of your typical holiday shopper.

New York -- Coupon website RetailMeNot plans to make deals more personalized for users. The website and app offers coupons and deals to customers based on their location and stores and restaurants that they’ve favorited. Now, with more than 18 million downloads of the mobile app and a June launch of a tablet app, RetailMeNot is planning to expand its capabilities to allow retailers to use the app as a tool for reaching new customers.

Gap and Banana Republic may have had soft sales in June, but performance at the company’s Old Navy brand saved the day.

The company reported an increase of 1% in June sales compared with last year. Net sales for the five-week period ended July 5 were $1.54 billion compared with net sales of $1.53 billion for the five-week period ended July 6 last year.