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New York -- Aeropostale said Thursday that net income for the first quarter narrowed to $10.6 million, from $16.4 million in the same period last year. Sales for the quarter ended April 28 rose 6% to $497.2 million, from $469.2 million, and same-store sales edged up 2% on the strength of its online performance. Without e-commerce results, same-store sales for the quarter were flat.

Retailers are using multiple channels to establish more direct connections with consumers, according to the findings of a recent survey from global cloud commerce solutions provider Digital River. Consistent with the shift to multichannel strategies, the survey indicated respondents are increasingly connecting with customers via multiple touchpoints. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they were currently using transactional websites, followed by social commerce (55 percent), app stores (50 percent), in-product commerce (50 percent), subscription sales (48 percent) and mobile commerce (48 percent).

New York & Company, Inc. [NYSE:NWY], a specialty apparel chain with 541 retail stores, today announced that Christine Munnelly has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President, Merchandising. Ms. Munnelly was previously Senior Vice President, Merchandising overseeing the Company's Casual business. She will continue to report to Greg Scott, Chief Executive Officer. "We are very excited that we have promoted Chris to Executive Vice President of Merchandising," stated Greg Scott, New York & Company's CEO. "With over 25 years of retail experience, Chris has established a proven track record of success with such retailers as Aeropostale and

Foot Locker announced the promotion of Richard A. Johnson to the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. Johnson will retain responsibility for all of the company's store banners worldwide. He's been executive vice president and group president, retail stores since July 2011. Johnson has been with the company for more than 15 years in positions of increasing responsibility, including as president and CEO of the company's Foot Locker divisions in the U.S., president and CEO of Foot Locker Europe, and president and CEO of Footlocker.com/Eastbay.

After previewing first quarter earnings last week, GameStop (NYSE: GME) announced that total sales were down 12.2 percent to $2 billion compared to $2.28 billion in the same quarter last year. The Grapevine-based company reported net earnings of $72.5 million for the quarter ending April 28, compared to $80.4 million in previous year’s same quarter. New video game software sales dropped 20 percent from the same quarter in 2011. Hardware sales and pre-owned sales were also down. The company said...

Liz Claiborne Inc. said Tuesday that it's officially changed its name to Fifth & Pacific Cos., following an initial announcement in January that it would do so. The company sold the Liz Claiborne and Monet brands to J.C. Penney in November, freeing it up to concentrate more fully on its Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand and Kate Spade labels. “As we say a final goodbye to the iconic Liz Claiborne name, we know the time is right for a change, and we welcome our bright new future as Fifth & Pacific Companies,” CEO William McComb said.

Tiffany & Co. has taken a major step to controlling its destiny in the United Arab Emirates by restructuring its joint venture agreement with retailer Damas Jewellery. Damas, based in the U.A.E., is an international jewelry and watch retailer. Under the new partnership agreement between the two companies, all of the operational, merchandising and sales, and marketing management for the five Tiffany & Co. stores in the U.A.E. will be transferred from Damas to Tiffany. Previously, Tiffany sold its merchandise on a wholesale basis to Damas, which operated the Tiffany & Co. stores. 

Destination Maternity has opened its first freestanding store in India, located in the largest mall in the country. Ed Krell, CEO of Destination Maternity, commented, "We are very excited to announce the opening of the first Destination Maternity store in India. Mahindra Retail has done a great job opening Motherhood shop-in-shops within their own Mom & Me stores, and the launch of a Destination Maternity freestanding store is the natural next step for expanding our presence in India."

/PRNewswire/ -- Blyth, Inc. Robert B. Goergen, Blyth's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said of Ms. Dietze's appointment, "Jane brings a strong technology background and financial management expertise to Blyth. We are very pleased to have her join us now as a significant percentage of our capital expenditures are being used for strategic technology investments in our direct-to-consumer businesses." Ms. Dietze is Director of Private Equity and Bowdoin College's Investments Office. Prior to joining Bowdoin College she was a Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group, a global alternative investment and asset management firm. Before Fortress Investment Group, Ms. Dietze