Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Lands' End has named Becky Gebhardt as SVP, chief creative officer. Gebhardt was actually VP of creative at the company from 2004 to 2007.

The announcement comes a day after the company, which was recently divested by Sears, named Steven Rado as SVP, chief marketing officer.

New York -- Aeropostale Inc. will close approximately 125 of its mall-based P.S. from Aeropostale kids’ stores by the end of its fiscal year and cut about 100 corporate jobs as part of a larger turnaround effort.

St. Petersburg, Fla. - Net income declined at HSN Inc. during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 even as sales slightly improved compared to the same period a year earlier. Net income dropped 23% to $24.18 million from $31.54 million.

Net sales climbed 1% to $772.42 million from $772.65 million. A slight decline in average price point, as well as a higher tax rate and increased cost of sales, helped push HSN’s net income down. Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, also cited severe weather as a negative financial factor in the quarter.

Nearly two months after Sears set it free, Lands' End has named Steven Rado as SVP, chief marketing officer.

Rado will guide a team of 50 professionals across marketing operations including consumer insights, forecasting and analytics, catalog, digital marketing, customer acquisition, e-commerce, public relations and advertising.

Sweaty Betty

There’s a new high-end fashion activewear brand in town, and this one speaks with a British accent. London-based Sweaty Betty opened its first two U.S outposts last year, one in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, and one in Greenwich, Conn. A third is expected to open in 2014.

St. Louis - Build-A-Bear Workshop has reached an agreement with Horizon Toy Company of Turkey as a new international franchisee. The first Build-A-Bear Workshop store in Turkey is expected to open in Mall of Istanbul in June 2014.

With the store opening in Turkey, Build-A-Bear Workshop will now operate in 15 countries through franchisees. Those countries include Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

Seattle – Blue Nile Inc. reported increases in net income and sales during the first quarter of 2014, compared to the same period in the prior year. Net income rose 30% to $1.07 billion, from $832 million.

Net sales increased 6.8% to $103.7 million, compared to $97.1 million. Looking ahead, Blue Nile expects net sales between $108 and $113 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2014 and net sales between $485 and $510 million for fiscal 2014.

Teen specialist Aéropostale lent credence to the “malls are dying” voices by announcing the closure of 125-mall based stores and the elimination of 100 headquarter positions.

Citing changing shopping patterns among moms, Aéropostale said it planned to close 125 of its 150 P.S. from Aéropostale stores which focus on kids ages four through 12. The move is part of a larger cost reduction program related to a turnaround strategy that is expected to result in annual savings of $30 to $35 million.