Sales & Marketing

New York - Lululemon on Thursday will open  a 5,766-sq.-ft. flagship at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif..  The visual centerpiece of the store is an intricately-laid domed mosaic ceiling—in a vibrant blue hue—that reads, "Breath deep & appreciate the moment."   The storefront boasts a colorful, two-story, illuminated glass corner.

Many retailers opened on Thanksgiving this year but regional discounter Fred’s remained closed and the impact of that decision was evident when the company reported a 2.3% decline in November same store sales.

Fred’s stores were open on Thanksgiving Day last year, but the operator of 702 stores closed its stores this year which made for a challenging comparison against the prior year period.

Brand-building expert and consultant Denise Lee Yohn has released her annual outlook for the year,  “Brands to Watch in 2015.”

Houston - JLL has appointed Naveen Jaggi as president of JLL Americas Retail Brokerage. Jaggi comes to JLL from CBRE, where he was a senior managing director of Retail Services.

In his new role at JLL, Jaggi will oversee more than 100 brokers, spanning 25 major markets, who serve the firm’s 500 retail owner and occupier clients. Jaggi is also tasked with creating deeper integration, collaboration and consistency across the Americas retail platform and globally.

NEW YORK - Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart plans to open a coffee shop in New York.  

A spokeswoman for Martha Stewart confirmed Wednesday that plans are in place for the company to open a New York coffee shop. She declined to offer more details, such as when it will open.  

The shop will be located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, the Associated Press reported, in the same building where Stewart’s company— Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.—is based holds the company's headquarters.

By Ken Morris, Boston Retail Partners

What a difference a year makes! We have seen a dramatic increase in the use of social media by merchandisers over the past year, as retailers look for innovative ways to enhance their merchandising decisions to deliver the products consumers want across a seamless shopping experience.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. has reportedly failed in its attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed by banks in federal court in Minneapolis. According to Reuters, the banks are seeking compensation in the millions of dollars for reimbursing consumers for fraudulent charges and issuing new payment cards in connection with the November 2013 security breach at Target.

The dynamics of Thanksgiving weekend retail activity continue to evolve, but Cyber Monday still rules with sales that topped $2 billion for the first time ever this year.