Merchandising

The blue polyester vests that Wal-Mart Stores workers will soon be required to wear hail from Jordan, according to media reports. The garment's place of origin raised plenty of eyebrows due to the retailer's recent pledge to buy more U.S.-made goods, as well as the slate of workers’ rights violations at Wal-Mart suppliers in Jordan. Gawker received a tip Friday from a Wal-Mart employee in Minnesota, who snapped a picture of the vest's inner tag. The image was also distributed by a PR firm for labor organizing group OUR Wal-Mart. 

Alison LePard, a 19-year-old college sophomore from Wellesley, Mass., says that when she shops for clothes and accessories, her goal is a look that's uniquely hers. So she does a lot of mixing and matching. "I don't blindly follow what they put out," LePard said of store displays. "I don't want to wear just one brand. I don't want to be a stereotype." She's hardly alone. Recent surveys have found that members of the U.S. millennial generation — the roughly 80 million Americans born between 1977 and 2000 — pride themselves on their individuality, and shop accordingly.

For many consumers, Target had lost its way. The man tasked with getting Target back on track, Brian Cornell, who was named the company's new CEO in July, took his first significant steps in that process this week.

Etsy, the online marketplace for homemade and vintage products and other "unique goods," announced on Tuesday that it was banning the Redskins name and logo from its site, effective immediately. "Like the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, we at Etsy find the opinion of the minority group itself to carry most weight in determining whether the mascot is disparaging," the company said in a statement posted on its blog. "Native American groups have consistently advocated and litigated that the term ‘redskin(s)’ is disparaging and damaging to Native Americans. Therefore, it will no longer be permitted in our marketplace."

Talbots is upgrading its core merchandising and inventory management systems to streamline processes, reclassify products and centrally manage inventory across channels. The retailer of women's classic apparel and accessories has selected Mi9 BI, Mi9 Merchant and Sales Audit with Loss Prevention software products to replace its existing core merchandising and inventory management systems. Talbots chose Mi9 Retail for its advanced business intelligence capabilities that are built into the merchandising platform with a single data repository and easy-to-use interface, as well as its robust integration capabilities with third-party systems, including their order management systems.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is finally shedding its traditional logo-focused apparel, clothes that made the brand one of the most sought after among teens in the past two decades. The company's preppy t-shirts and sweatshirts have fallen out of favor with students who are more inclined to spend their allowances on cheaper and

Forward-thinking retailers have come to view online customer reviews as a key tool to help shoppers gain confidence in their purchases and drive conversions. Instead of being threatened by reviews, they embraced them, integrating them into their sites and social outposts and honing techniques to make them as authentic and useful to shoppers as possible. Here are a few ways to make sure your customer review program is best-of-breed:

OK, as a journalist, I’m not supposed to show any allegiance to a brand. I'm supposed to be unbiased and straightforward with just the facts, ma’am. And most of the time I am. But I’ve been reading a lot about the cool stuff online luxury retailer Net-A-Porter has been doing lately, and I can’t contain my excitement. Here are three reasons I think it's a great company:

Michael Kors, increasingly coveted by women from Sante Fe to Shanghai, is going after guys. The design house, which reported yet another quarter of growing sales and profits, said yesterday that it sees potential for up to 500 company-owned stores selling nothing but menswear. More immediately, one floor of its soon-to-open Manhattan flagship store will only have clothes aimed at men. The company will also launch a new cologne for men next month, along with a "thrilling TV spot reminiscent of an action movie." 

Hindu critics say Urban Outfitters new duvet cover featuring Lord Ganesh is insensitive to their faith and have asked that the item be pulled. The cover, available online for $129-$169, depicts the elephant-head Hindu deity who symbolizes wisdom. Criticism of the retailer comes barely a week after Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Sears came under fire for selling a commemorative poster featuring a photo from the Dachau concentration camp's main gate. Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, has asked Urban Outfitters to take the duvet cover off the market.