Merchandising
June 22, 2012
Teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch plans to close 180 U.S. stores over the next few years as it tries to improve its financial performance. Abercrombie used to generate most of its sales in the U.S. but has shifted its focus to overseas markets such as Europe and Asia, where it's still growing. The chain has already closed 135 underperforming U.S. stores over the past two years.
June 19, 2012
German sports apparel maker Adidas withdrew its plans to sell a controversial sneaker featuring affixed rubber shackles after the company generated significant criticism when advertising the shoe on its Facebook page. The high-top sneakers, dubbed the JS Roundhouse Mids, were expected to release in August, according to the Adidas Originals Facebook page. “Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?” a caption below a photo of the sneakers read.
June 14, 2012
Having spent last week at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago, I came away with three key takeaways: One, if you're an online retailer not selling internationally, particularly in Australia, what are you waiting for? You're missing out on a potential growth opportunity for your brand. Two, brick-and mortar retailers must develop a strategy to deal with "showrooming," — i.e., consumers using stores as showrooms to check out products, then buying those products online at a lower price (with free shipping, of course). Three, online marketplaces are proliferating — it's not just Amazon.com and eBay anymore — and becoming another viable channel for retailers to engage consumers and sell their products.
June 14, 2012
Europeans, don't go looking for new kicks on eBay or Amazon.com — not if you like the brand with the three stripes. Adidas says it wants to limit all European online sales to franchised sites. The ban, set to take effect in 2013, would also affect subsidiary athletic shoe maker Reebok.
June 5, 2012
Jones Group Inc. announced that it is deepening its partnership with world renowned designer Brian Atwood through the acquisition of the Brian Atwood brand. The transaction will bring Brian Atwood's existing and future collections, inclusive of his luxury shoe collections, into the Company's portfolio and furthers Jones' strategy of acquiring and nurturing the world's best creative talents and designer brands to infuse a strong design-driven perspective in the Company's portfolio.
June 4, 2012
Two years after Target angered gay marriage supporters with a political donation that benefited a fiery gay marriage opponent seeking t
June 4, 2012
What matters most to online shoppers? Hint: It has less to do with specific products and everything to do with communication, and that includes shipping and returns. You'll find key insights into what makes online shoppers click, consumers’ online shopping preferences, what shipping and post-purchase services enhance the customer experience most, and more with this fact-filled whitepaper. Check it out here!
May 31, 2012
Nordstrom and GQ have announced a multimedia strategy designed to integrate GQ editorial into the Nordstrom online shopping experience. Nordstrom will host an online store that will feature "GQ Selects," a selection of men's products handpicked from the pages of the magazine by the editors of GQ. Beginning with GQ's July issue, the items will be designated in-book, compiled on GQ.com and available for purchase on NordstromMen.com. "Our customers look to us for style advice," said David Witman, Nordstrom general merchandise manager, menswear. "Who better to partner with than GQ, the authoritative style experts?"
May 30, 2012
HanesBrands, the parent of Champion and Hanes, said it plans to narrow the focus of its worldwide imagewear business by restructuring to exit noncore segments and reduce risk. The company announced the sale of its European imagewear division and, in the U.S, the exit from the private-label category and the planned divestiture of its OuterBanks brand. Imagewear, which sells basic apparel to wholesalers in the screen-print market, accounts for 8 percent of the company’s sales before the actions. Hanes expects to incur pretax charges in the second quarter of up to $85 million to $95 million.
May 23, 2012
Online retailing has existed for nearly 20 years, and product recommendations have been around for almost as long due to the pioneering work of Amazon.com, which applied for a patent on its collaborative filtering technology in 1998. Since then, a majority of retailers have adopted online product recommendations. Yet many of these implementations are still fairly primitive because they fail to understand an online shopper’s real-time product needs.
