News

Bon-Ton gets to the root of seamless experience
When it comes to supporting the back end of omnichannel retailing, the Bon-Ton Stores Inc. digs deeper than supply chain.

Bon-Ton has selected the end-user experience monitoring (EUM) solution from Catchpoint Systems, a digital performance analytics company, to help optimize the company’s digital customer experience. Specifically, the retailer will use Catchpoint’s Synthetic (Active) Monitoring solution to ensure that its e-commerce website and mobile site deliver consistently high performance, and to find and fix issues before they impact consumers.
Q&A at RECon 2016 - Buxton

Familiar face returns to Under Armour

A veteran creative executive is coming back to Under Armour in a new role, following a short hiatus.

Dave Dombrow, former Under Armour senior VP, creative footwear and accessories, will return to the brand as chief design officer, beginning Aug. 1, 2016. In his newly created role as chief design officer, Dombrow will guide the design of Under Armour's entire collection of footwear, apparel and accessories.
Francesca’s profits stay above expectations; will open new stores

Francesca’s Holdings Corp. saw net income decline, but still beat Wall Street predictions, in the first quarter of fiscal 2016.

The specialty apparel retailer reported net income of $7/08 million, down 2% from $7.24 million the same quarter a year earlier. Higher selling, general and administrative (S,G&A) expenses offset improvements in gross profit.
Louisiana shopping center welcomes new tenants

Stirling Properties and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. are announcing several changes to Ambassador Town Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Half Shell Oyster House will occupy 5,850-sq.-ft. of restaurant space, and is the newest addition to the eatery line-up. This will mark the ninth location for the seafood restaurant, and the first in Louisiana. Half Shell Oyster House is expected to open in November 2016.

Newly leased, Just 4 Him Men’s Haircut Lounge will occupy 1,267-sq.-ft. and is expected to open in September 2016.
Target shareholders vote on directors, exec compensation

Investors in Target Corp. decided on several important issues at the retailer’s 2016 annual meeting.

Shareholders elected 14 members of the board of directors, ratified the appointment of Target’s independent registered public accounting firm, approved proposal on compensation for executives and rejected one shareholder proposal.
Architecture firm names new VP

Tracy Borchardt has been promoted from senior project manager to associate VP of architecture firm CMA.

Borchardt joined CMA in 2003 as a project coordinator. In 2006, he was promoted to senior project manager. As of June 2016, he is now the associate VP of CMA.
Q&A at RECon 2016 - Bayer
Restoration Hardware misses Street in tough Q1

Specialty home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (RH) had what could be termed a messy start to the fiscal year.

RH swung to a net loss of $13.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, compared to net earnings of $7.2 million the prior year period, falling short of Wall Street expectations. Revenue grew 8% to $455.5 million from $422.4 million, but also missed projections. Increases in cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative (S,G&A) expenses helped push the retailer into the red despite improving sales.
Christopher & Banks shows improvement in Q1; will shuffle store mix

Specialty apparel retailer Christopher & Banks Corp. is not out of the red, but headed in the right direction during the first quarter of fiscal 2016.

The company reported net loss of $0.2 million, down from a net loss of $1.4 million the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Improved gross margin helped shrink the loss. Net sales totaled $100 million, an increase of 9%, compared to $91.6 million.