News Briefs

Ross Stores has promoted a company veteran to its C-suite.

The off-price giant said that Karen Fleming has been promoted to president and chief merchandising officer of DD’s Discounts, effective April 1. Fleming, who will be responsible for directing all aspects of merchandising at DD’s, succeeds Brian Morrow, who will transition to a consultant role upon her promotion.

Fleming joined the DD’s buying organization in 2022, after almost 20 years of merchandise leadership roles in several businesses at Ross Dress for Less. Since September 2023, she served as group executive VP of merchandising, DD’s.

 “We are excited to have Karen lead the DD’s merchandising team,” said Ross CEO Barbara Rentler said. “She is a respected executive who has made significant contributions to the growth of our company during her tenure. I am confident that her deep knowledge of the off-price business will benefit the long-term growth of DD’s Discounts.”

Headquartered in Dublin, Calif., Ross operates 1,765 namesake locations in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, as of Oct. 28, 2023, along with 347 DD’s Discounts stores in 22 states.

Luxury retail parent company Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) has appointed its new chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Tom Mattei will fill the roles effective immediately. He currently serves as NMG’s chief compliance officer. Mattei will oversee strategic legal and risk-related initiatives, loss prevention, and matters of corporate governance. He will continue to report to NMG CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck.

Mattei joined NMG in 2020 as assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary. He has served in positions of increasing responsibility, including becoming chief compliance officer and recently interim chief legal officer.

Prior to joining NMG, Tom led the legal, risk management and property management departments for food and beverage supplier Farmer Bros. Co., where he worked for six years.

"We are pleased to confirm Tom's appointment as chief legal officer and corporate secretary,” said van Raemdonck. “He has a deep understanding of our business as a former public company general counsel and brings a wealth of experience to this role. We are confident that Tom's expertise will continue to contribute to the success of our company.”

NMG’s brands include Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Late last year, NMG rejected a $3 billion purchase offer from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Nordstrom continues to grow the footprint of its Rack outlet division, announcing two upcoming North Carolina locations.

Nordstrom Rack will open a 32,000-sq.-ft. store at Triangle Town Place in Raleigh, N.C., in fall 2024. The shopping center is owned and managed by Global Net Lease. In spring 2025, the company will open at Sycamore Commons, in Matthews, N.C. The center is owned and managed by InvenTrust Properties.

Earlier this month, Nordstrom Rack unveiled plans to open at Bell Tower, in Meyers, Fla. The center is owned by Madison Marquette; leased by Colliers and managed by Avison Young.

Below is a list of Nordstrom Rack store openings planned for 2024 and 2025 (the list does not include the three three stores from above):

• Houston, Tex. (Meyerland Plaza)
• Omaha, Neb. (Village Pointe)
• Noblesville, Ind. (Hamilton Town Center)
• Franklin, Tenn. (Cool Springs Market)
• Pinole, Calif. (Pinole Vista Crossing)
• Kennesaw, Ga. (Barrett Place)
• Elk Grove, Calif. (The Ridge Elk Grove)
• Gilroy, Calif. (Gilroy Crossing)
• Oceanside, Calif. (Pacific Coast Plaza)
• Wheaton, Ill. (Danada Square East)
• Snellville, Ga. (Presidential Markets)
• Macedonia, Ohio (Macedonia Gateway)
• Jacksonville Beach, Fla. (South Beach Regional)
• Queen Creek, Ariz. (Queen Creek Marketplace)
• Bay Shore, N.Y. (Gardiner Manor Mall)
• San Mateo, Calif. (Bridgepoint Shopping Center)
• San Diego, Calif. (Clairemont Town Square)
• Mason, Ohio (Deerfield Towne Center)
• San Antonio, Texas (Bandera Pointe)
• Mooresville, N.C. (Mooresville Crossing)
• Davis, Calif. (The Davis Collection)

Nordstrom operates more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.

A large number of marketers are concerned about losing access to their brand or retailer’s fans on social media.

According to a new survey from marketing platform Tint, 60% of marketers are worried about losing reach due to increasing fragmentation, dissatisfaction with platform content and changes in social media algorithms.

A large majority (82%) of consumers are more likely to purchase new product varieties because of an online brand community. In addition, 69% of consumers prefer to purchase brands that they interact with in an online community. The same percentage of consumers say the brands they buy reflect who they are and are important to how they want to be perceived.

Consumers continue to participate in online discourse, with 40% of consumers saying their involvement in online communities will increase in 2024. However, only 28% of marketers currently have a dedicated online brand community distinct from social media. 

Tint found that 47% of brand marketers surveyed already own or are in the process of building an online brand community distinct from social media. A vast majority (85%) of marketers believe having a branded online community positively impacts core operations.

"2024 is the year of owned brand communities and Zero Party Data," said Sameer Kamat, Tint CEO. "We have seen how quickly social platforms can change and fall out of favor. Brands are taking back their relationships with consumers."

WHSmith is betting big on North America.

The UK-based retailer is on track to open over 110 stores this year, including over 50 in North America, where it continues to make “excellent progress,” the company stated.

“The growth opportunities in North America are substantial and there is a good pipeline of tenders,” stated group CEO Carl Cowling. “We have a strong airport store opening programme in the year with the majority of these stores due to open in the second half, as expected.”

Cowling said the company is seeing passenger number growth and “strong “demand for its travel essentials categories.  

WHSmith’s Marshall Retail Group’s (MRG) airport and resort business now represents approximately 50% of the revenue of its North American division.

WHSmith is a leading global retailer in news, books and convenience for travelers, with more than 1,700 stores across 30 countries worldwide. the Company has a growing international business with over 600 stores primarily across the world's leading airports. 

In November 2018, WHSmith acquired InMotion, a global technology retailer in U.S. airports, now operating over 120 stores, including stores in the UK, Spain and Australia. 

In December 2019, WHSmith acquired Marshall Retail Group, a leading and fast-growing U.S. travel retailer with over 170 stores.