News

Chico’s sells Boston Proper
Chico’s FAS has sold its Boston Proper women’s apparel business to a Los Angeles-based, consumer-focused private equity firm.

Brentwood Associates, whose portfolio includes J. McLaughlin and Soft Surroundings, announced Tuesday it has acquired the women’s apparel brand. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
J.C. Penney taps former Home Depot vet to head up stores
J.C. Penney Company appointed Joe McFarland as executive VP of stores, effective immediately, succeeding Tony Bartlett.

McFarland, similar to J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison, is a Home Depot veteran. He worked at the home improvement giant for over 20 years, most recently as president of its Northern and Western Divisions, where he was responsible for the sales and operations of up to 800 stores in 24 states. McFarland began his career at the chain as a sales associate.

2016 Retail IPO Outlook

When providing the BDO retail IPO outlook for 2015 at the beginning of this year, we asked: Will consumer businesses face a potential Alibaba hangover in 2015?
Women’s apparel retailer files motion for sale of assets

Joyce Leslie on Monday announced that it filed a motion on January 14th for court approval to set bid procedures and an auction date for a sale of most of its assets.

The young women’s fashion retailer had previously announced that it had filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 on Jan. 9.
Lackluster holiday sales prompt Tiffany to cut outlook, staff

Tiffany & Co. says weak tourist spending and a strong dollar hurt its sales results for the two-month holiday period.

The retailer said worldwide net sales declined 3% (due to declines in the Americas and Asia-Pacific offsetting growth in Japan and Europe) and same store sales declined 5%. There were no noteworthy differences in performance among jewelry categories, the company said. Reported in U.S. dollars, worldwide net sales of $961 million were 6% lower than the prior year.
Dillard's cookbook nets more than $850K for RMHC

Dillard’s Inc. is giving more than $850,000 to local Chapters of Ronald McDonald House Charities after selling its exclusive Southern Living Christmas Cookbook.

For the eighth time, Dillard’s offered a special custom edition of the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook to benefit RMHC. This exclusive, 288-page hardbound cookbook is filled with fabulous holiday recipes, color photos, menus, decorating tips and entertaining ideas.
Ascena Retail Group appoints a new SVP

Ascena Retail Group has a new senior vice president to lead the company through its next phase of growth.

The company announced that Duane Holloway has been named Senior Vice President and General Counsel, effective immediately. Holloway will serve on the company’s leadership team and report to David Jaffe, President and CEO. He will be responsible for overseeing all legal matters for the Company.
Report: Walmart merging tech teams to create new group

Wal-Mart Stores’ online push continues.

The retailer will merge its Bentonville-based information systems division with its Silicon Valley-based technology unit, zWalmartLabs, next month, Reuters reported.

The merger will create a new group called Walmart Technology.

The chain’s CIO, Karenann Terrell, and chief technical officer, Jeremy King, will continue to lead the information systems group and zWalmartLabs, respectively. Both will report to Neil Ashe, head of the chain e-commerce division, the report said.
Lucky Brand strives for omnichannel fortune

Vertical specialty denim retailer Lucky Brand is bringing together disparate parts of its business onto one platform.

Lucky Brand has implemented NetSuite OneWorld to run a variety of omnichannel business processes across its consumer- and business-facing operations. These include inventory management, procure-to-pay, fixed assets, and multi-currency and multi-tax compliance management.
Study: Who are the five most important retail e-commerce vendors?

In the next few years, retailers around the world are set to substantially increase their investments in e-commerce software, with five vendors spearheading the growth.

According to a new study from Research and Markets, the global retail e-commerce software market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.95% during the period 2014-2019. Research and Markets has identified Magento, Oracle ATG Commerce, PrestaShop, Shopify and WooThemes as the five key retail e-commerce vendors.