Retail

Toronto native Sarah Stevenson won a design contest this week and with it the right to design a collection of a dozen pieces that will be featured in Target’s Canadian stores.

A report in the Wall Street Journal referred to the boost that is expected to result from Stevenson’s selection as the winner of the Toronto Fashion Incubator’s annual design contest as the "Target bump."

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Wednesday will celebrate the official opening of its latest flagship, located at School and Washington streets in Boston. The store is located in an old Borders store.
 

NEW YORK — The Jones Group Inc. returned to a profit in the first quarter, but sales were hampered by unseasonably cool weather. The company said net income for the three months ended April 6, after paying preferred dividends, totaled $500,000. That compares with a loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago period.

San Francisco — Mobile solutions provider Moovweb has added fashion retailer Charlotte Russe to its list of customers using its cloud-based experience platform.
 

LOS ANGELES — Guess has appointed former Victoria’s Secret executive Sharleen Ernster Lazear as chief design officer, overseeing all product categories for the Guess brands. She will report to CEO Paul Marciano. 

Sometimes, to meet consumer demand you have to get creative. That’s what developer Centergy Retail, LLC, Dallas, did in the conceptualization of a hybrid power-lifestyle center in the heart of El Paso, Texas.

One of the few ground-up developments in the U.S., The Fountains at Farah will open October 2013 with 600,000 sq. ft. of best-in-class national junior anchor stores, fashion and name brand retailers, and upscale boutiques, restaurants and retail service uses.

In the 18 months since I joined the National Retail Federation, I’ve been struck repeatedly by how rapidly our industry continues to evolve. As we all know, retail has always changed and adapted — and in just the past 20 years we’ve advanced from then-radical game changer Amazon.com to more recent models like Hointer, which boasts what amounts to online shopping in a store. 

Columbia, S.C. -- Golfsmith International is opening its first South Carolina store, in the state capital of Columbia, with a grand opening celebration on May 3 to May 5.
   
The 23,500-sq.-ft. store is part of Golfsmith's aggressive growth strategy in the Carolinas. Adding to its current Raleigh location, the company recently expanded with new stores in Charlotte and Greensboro — with another new store opening in Myrtle Beach later this spring.