Sales & Marketing

Minted, the online marketplace for crowdsourced stationery, art and home decor from independent artists, has opened its first brick-and-mortar store.   The store, a pop-up in San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district, is called Minted Local. Open through October 2016, it will highlight the work of regional California artists, including original art and one-of-a-kind decorative items for the first time in Minted’s history.  

Off-price retailer Century 21 will make its West Coast debut in a most unusual way — taking over a high-tech, high-touch “smart” store for six weeks.  

Foot Locker Inc. saw net income reaching unprecedented levels during the first quarter of fiscal 2016, although sales growth missed Wall Street expectations.   Net income rose 4% to $191 million, from $184 million. Higher pretax income offset a slight increase in income tax expense, resulting in the profit boost. Sales also climbed 4% to $1.99 billion, from $1.92 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.9%.  

The recent Momentum 2016 conference held by Manhattan Associates in Orlando, Florida, was a great opportunity to catch up on the latest developments in supply chain solutions and strategies.   Here are three especially important retail supply chain trends uncovered and explained at the event:   Supply chain is key to omnichannel

Fabulous Freddy’s, an eight-unit retail chain headquartered in Las Vegas, provides customers with a little bit of everything.   “We’re a full-service car wash, express lube operation, gas station and convenience store,” said Jeff Warwick, VP and CFO of Fabulous Freddy’s, during an interview with Chain Store Age. “We’re always exploring opportunities to lease store space to franchises or operate in-store franchises ourselves.”  

Big and tall men continued to spend in the first quarter, bucking slow apparel sales throughout the rest of the industry.   Destination XL Group Inc. posted revenue of $107.9 million in the quarter, up 3.3% from $104.4 million in the year-ago period. Total same-store sales rose 2%.  

A new guest service counter, interactive displays, new food vendors and LED track and valance lighting are just a few of the updates being tested in 25 Target stores in the Los Angeles area.   The initiative, called LA25, features different enhancements Target has been testing across stores and puts them all together to see how they impact stores and the customer experience.    

American Eagle Outfitters announced that Kyle Andrew has been appointed executive VP, chief marketing officer, effective June 6.   Andrew served as senior VP, brand director for Kate Spade Saturday from 2013 through 2015. She joined the company in 2008 as head of global brand marketing and played an integral role in the re-positioning of the Kate Spade brand from a $100 million handbag company to a billion dollar global lifestyle brand.