eCommerce

Amazon making plans to enter a hot apparel segment
Job postings by Amazon may have revealed the company’s newest apparel entry: athleisure. Several online job listings published by Amazon in December suggest that the online giant is developing a line of workout apparel, reported ReCode.
Innovation in Spotlight at X/SPECS
Innovation is today’s buzzword. And it was all the talk at Chain Store Age’s X/SPECS 2016, as key executives from some of the nation’s leading retail and restaurant chains zeroed in on real-world strategies designed to innovate stores and elevate customer experiences.

Expanding North

DLC Management Corp.’s grocery-anchored shopping centers can be found in places such as Dallas; Milwaukee; Columbus, Ohio; and Birmingham, Ala.; but the company has a special stake in the Northeast. In October, DLC closed the biggest deal in its history, acquiring a passel of 16 centers, all but one of them in New York state. Chain Store Age Real Estate Editor Al Urbanski talked with DLC CEO Adam Ifshin and asked him what retailers need to know about the Northeast market.
Macy’s details store closings, restructuring amid poor holiday sales

Macy’s gave more information about its previously announced store closing plans as it unveiled a series of actions to streamline its store portfolio, intensify cost efficiency efforts and execute its real estate strategy.
Amazon fulfillment service grew more than 50% during holiday season

The Amazon Marketplace, an online mall that that allows third-party sellers to reach customers around the world, hit big milestones during the holiday season.
Amazon plans for second Jacksonville DC

The Sunshine State will gain another Amazon fulfillment center. On the heels of its recent announcement to open a new warehouse in Jacksonville, Fla., the retail giant is planning to open a second facility in the same city, and employ an additional 1,000 workers. Jacksonville’s first fulfillment center was announced six months ago.
Target Exercises Flexibility

Target Corp. is thinking out of the box in urban and other select areas.
The retailer’s flexible format store is designed to allow it to open in locations — ranging from downtown areas to college neighborhoods — that can’t accommodate a big-box footprint. The stores, which also serve as convenient pick-up destinations for online orders, run the gamut in size depending on their location. But most seem to average from about 20,000 to 40,000 sq. ft. The smallest, at 12,000 sq. ft., is in Berkely, Calif.
Project Profiles

Seaport District

Location: Lower Manhattan, New York, N.Y.

Size: The transformed Seaport District will encompass seven buildings on several blocks totaling more than 400,000 sq. ft.

Developer: The Howard Hughes Corporation

Key tenants: iPic Theaters, 10 Corso Como, Scotch & Soda

Status: Pier 17, the property at the center of the Seaport’s development plan, is set to open next year.
The 25 people shaping retail’s future are…

A 12-year-old CEO is among the 25 individuals named to the National Retail Foundation’s 2017 List of People Shaping Retail’s Future. Mikaila Ulmer, founder and CEO of Me & The Bees Lemonade http://gala.nrf.com/the-list-2017#MIKAILA-ULMER, is the youngest of the list’s honorees, all of whom will be recognized at the NRF Foundation Gala on January 15 during the NRF Big Show in New York City.
Coach taps former Saks exec as new finance head

Coach announced the appointment of Kevin G. Wills as CFO, effective no later than March 2017. Wills joins the upscale specialty retailer from AlixPartners LLP, a global business advisory firm, where he has served as managing director and CFO since March 2014.