Sales & Marketing

Shoppers will soon be able to personalize and accessorize the shoes they buy at DSW Inc.   The retailer has entered into a partnership with Trend:Bar, a new, Los Angeles-based  company that produces luxe fabric stickers, appliques, charms, shoelaces, patches, and creative add-ons that customers can use to personalize footwear and accessories.       Under the partnership, DSW will offer Trend:Bar items in select stores and on DSW.com.  

Amazon’s newest endeavor hopes to attract more Spanish-speaking shoppers.   The online retailer offering its website in Spanish, its first new language introduction since the site launched 20 years ago, according to CNet.   

The retail giant just made another move in its battle against online rival, Amazon.   Walmart is testing a touch-screen monitor in its toy aisle at dedicated stores in Texas. The solution connects shoppers to available inventory at store-level, and if it’s not on-hand, the device enables them to order it online, according to The Street.   

The Buckle reported earnings for its fourth quarter that missed expectations amid a rough market for teen retailers.    Net income for the quarter ended Jan. 28 was $36.0 million, or $0.75 per share ($0.74 per share on a diluted basis), compared to $98.0 million, or $2.04 per share ($2.03 per share on a diluted basis).   Buckle’s net sales fell 15.7% to $280.0 million, from $332.0 million for the prior year.   Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 16.1%.

There’s been a change at the top of teen apparel retailer Pacific Sunwear of California (PacSun).   Chief executive Gary Schoenfeld has departed the chain, which is owned by Golden Gate Capital. The news was first reported by shop-eat-surf.com   Schoenfeld had served as CEO of PacSun since 2009. No reason was given for his departure.   

A new partnership will help retailers make smarter business decisions faster.   Based on a new alliance between IBM Watson and Salesforce, the companies will seamlessly connect their solutions — a move that will enable a new level of intelligent customer engagement across sales, service, marketing, and commerce, among other operations.     

Hibbett Sports posted fourth-quarter sales that missed predictions, even as earnings were in line with forecasts.   Net sales for the 13-week period ended Jan. 28, increased 0.5% to $246.9 million compared with $245.7 million in the year-ago period.   Same-store decreased 2.2%. Apparel and equipment both experienced declines in comparable store sales, while footwear continued to show stronger sales with a mid-single digit increase.  

The Italian shoe and handbag retailer Baldinini takes its place among the 240 other hallowed brands at Woodbury Common in Central Valley, New York, this month, but that’s just the punctuation mark on the story of the transformation of Simon Premium Outlets’ star property.