Direct To Consumer (DTC)

SAN FRANCISCO — The Gymboree Corporation has appointed former Levi Strauss & Co. executive Joelle Maher as the company's new COO.  

At Levi Strauss & Co., Maher was most recently EVP, president global retail, and prior to that SVP of Americas multi-channel retail, and VP, planning, allocation, stores, store operations and outlet. She also held executive leadership positions at Lucky Brand Jeans, Old Navy and Macy's East.

Irvine, Calif. – European private label fashion brand is entering the U.S. e-commerce arena with the launch of a new office and website in the U.S. The site will offer leather goods, handbags and accessories at up to an 80% discount.

Eastside specializes in having fashion and design professionals analyze the market and then select materials and trends to create private-label goods and accessories.

FREEPORT, Maine — Outdoor gear and apparel multichannel merchant L.L.Bean is revving up its Bootmobile and hitting the road as part of the company’s 2013 Outdoor Discovery Tour, which encourages people to enjoy the outdoors.  

Traditional craftsmanship and the latest in technology help make for the perfect fit at The Left Shoe, a new luxury men’s footwear retail concept from Finland. 

West Chester, Pa. -- QVC has named Mustafa El-Rafey to the position of senior VP talent management and rewards. In this role El-Rafey will report to Beth Rubino, executive VP of HR and workplace services, and will lead the development and implementation of a talent management and rewards strategy for QVC. Specifically, he will focus on attracting and retaining key talent, promoting development, performance and accountability, building leadership capabilities, and supporting careers.

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corp. said it has signed a long-term renewal and expansion agreement to continue providing private label credit card services for Orchard Brands, a multichannel retailer of apparel and home products including the Blair, Haband, Old Pueblo Traders and Bedford Fair banners.

Long Beach, Calif. -- Nordstrom announced plans to close its Long Beach City Place Nordstrom Rack store in Long Beach, Calif. Originally opened in August 2002, the 33,000-sq.-ft. store will close to the public in late January 2014.

The company will continue to serve customers at three nearby Nordstrom Rack locations in Lakewood, South Bay and Edinger.

Overall economic growth in Europe is slower than in the U.S., but the opposite is true when it comes to e-commerce sales, according to figures published by Internet Retailer.
 
U.S. e-commerce sales grew 15.9% to $225.54 billion in 2012 from $194.61 billion the prior year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce while the Centre for Retail Research in the U.K. said European e-commerce sales increased 16.6% to $302.2 billion from 260.4 billion.