News

Charming Charlie Moving Full Speed Ahead
Charming Charlie has been on an upward trajectory for the past 10 years, and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. With 350 U.S. stores (plus four in Canada), the Houston-based, privately held jewelry and accessories retailer is busy expanding at home and, more recently, abroad. In June, it opened its first-ever location in New York City, a three-level, 16,000-sq.-ft.
E-commerce giant to stop using Flash
Consumers who visit one of the Internet's biggest retailers won’t have to worry anymore about seeing messages informing them they need to install or update Adobe Flash.

Home Depot completes $1.6 billion acquisition

Atlanta -- The Home Depot announced it has completed its $1.625 billion acquisition of Interline Brands.

The home improvement giant has previously announced agreement to acquire Interline, a national distributor and direct marketer of broad-line maintenance, repair and operations products, on July 22, 2015.
A Change in Plans

Common industry wisdom holds that by the time the holidays actually come around, merchandising and marketing plans have been in place for several months or more.
Low gas prices expected to fuel jump in holiday sales

It’s almost September, which can only mean one thing: The annual blizzard of holiday sales forecasts is about to begin, and this year eMarketer is one of the first out of the gate.
Industry Analysis: Online Contemporary Apparel

Loft and Express are the strongest online players in contemporary apparel, with less promotional activity and strong assortments, according to a report analyzing key contemporary players and year-over-year changes by fashion trendsetting and analysis firm WGSN. On the other hand, Anthropologie and J. Crew lack a cohesive merchandising and pricing strategy.

The report is based on data is sourced from the WGSN INStock analytics platform, which monitors the e-commerce catalogues of 12,000 brands and retailers, 400 product categories and 40 million SKUs.
The Hard Side of In-Store Mobile

Retailers are certainly attuned to the importance of mobile technology in today’s store environment. Customers who live mobile-enabled, “constantly connected” lifestyles expect the seamless mobile-physical overlap that exists in other parts of their lives to also be readily available when they enter a store.

However, when designing an in-store mobile experience, retailers typically focus their efforts squarely on the software side of the equation.
Sycamore Partners to buy Belk for $3 billion

Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is adding a department store to its growing portfolio, which includes such brands as Aeropostale, Jones New York and Nine West.
Nine West takes ownership of Canadian assets

New York - Nine West Holdings Inc. is taking ownership of its Canadian brand assets, including 45 store leases.

The company has acquired the business operations of Sherson Group Inc., which previously held the exclusive rights to the Nine West, Anne Klein and Easy Spirit brands in Canada.

Nine West intends to continue providing these brands to customers across Canada at Nine West mall-based locations and Shoe Studio outlet stores, as well as at department stores.
Blockbuster deal: Sycamore Partners buys Belk for $3 billion

Charlotte, N.C. -- Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is adding a department store to its growing portfolio.

Belk, the nation's largest family owned and operated department store company, on Monday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be 100% acquired by Sycamore Partners in a transaction with an estimated value of approximately $3 billion.