News

New York -- The Jones Group Inc. swung to a loss in the second quarter as the company was challenged with lower sales, weaker margins and higher costs.

Jones Group reported a loss of $3.4 million for the second quarter, compared to a profit of $8.1 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue decreased 1.1% to $845.6 million from $855 million for the second quarter of 2012. Analysts estimated revenues of $832.06 million for the quarter. One bright spot for Jones Group was an almost 21% year-over-year increase in wholesale jeanswear sales.

Target’s EVP of stores, Tina Schiel, and senior group manager of store planning, Nancy Devine, dug through the retailer’s photo archive and weighed in on the company’s evolving design philosophy.

Sandpoint, Idaho -- Coldwater Creek and Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced they have signed a new, long-term agreement for Alliance Data's Retail Services business to expand Coldwater Creek's co-branded credit card program and launch a Coldwater Creek private label credit card program.

PEORIA, Ill. — Kwikee, a leading provider of free product images as well as nutrition and ingredient information, has created an application programming interface for retailers and e-commerce developers that need information for consumer products. 

The Kwikee API will provide companies with a trusted source of accurate product information and images from the thousands of brands who pay for their product content to be represented in Kwikee's database.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation, Food Marketing Institute and Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) both issued statements applauding the ruling on the Federal Reserve Swipe Fee Regulation. The groups were responding to a U.S. District Court ruling on Wednesday that the implementation rules for debit swipe fee reform established by the Federal Reserve were inconsistent with the intent of the law.

The focus of retail analysts will be squarely on Target later this year when the company hosts an investor conference in Toronto on October 30. It will be the company’s first such event since entering the market and by the fall the company should have all of its 124 planned stores open and ready to roll for Christmas. For more details and to add to your calendar, click here.

VERNON, Calif. — True Religion Apparel has appointed David Conn as CEO. He will be joined by a new leadership team that, together with the company’s new owner, TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P., will be charged with guiding the company into its next phase of growth.

Conn joins from VF Corporation and has leadership experience in brand management and marketing in the apparel and footwear industries. Prior to his time as president of VF Retail Licensed Brands, Conn served as EVP of the Iconix Brand Group.

Seattle -- Starbucks announced it has tapped Google to provide the next generation of its WiFi offering to its customers nationwide. Over the next 18 months, Starbucks will convert more than 7,000 U.S. stores to Google’s upgraded store network and WiFi experience.

AT&T, which currently provides Starbucks’ wireless access, will be replaced by the new initiative. Google will increase speeds and enable users to surf the web up to 10-times faster, according to Starbucks.