Retail Stores

Bonobos, an e-commerce apparel darling, is expanding from lads to ladies. The six-year-old menswear company is set to launch a separate brand for women called AYR. The new line will debut with two styles of jeans going on sale Nov. 13. Bonobos is working on a full spring collection — some 75 different garments — that will be available in late January or early February. Bonobos broke into the hugely crowded apparel business with the age-old KISS strategy. Its website was easy to navigate, shipping and returns cost nothing for shoppers, and the clothes are stylish and not too numerous. 

We've ranked some of the lowest-paying companies based on hourly wages. The data comes from Glassdoor, a jobs and career community website. Of the 58 fashion retailers Glassdoor reviewed, Pacific Sunwear had the lowest hourly wages at $7.62, followed by Abercrombie & Fitch ($7.69) and Foot Locker ($7.71). For the purposes of the report, the data excludes salary information for managerial positions. The average hourly wages for the 10 lowest-paying retailers on our list was $7.80, which is $2.28 lower than the industry average for cashiers and salespeople, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Things don't look so jolly for Sears Holdings Corp. heading into the important holiday season. The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer, in a preview of its third-quarter performance, said Tuesday that losses grew, with continued weak sales. The deteriorating financial results leave Sears evaluating strategic options that at first blush would seem to harm its long-term prospects. The long-suffering retailer is considering separating its Lands' End and auto center units in a bid to raise cash and free up capital. In addition, the company said it will continue to close or sell an unspecified number of stores.

Gilbert Harrison, chairman and founder at investment bank Financo, discusses the retail expertise Angela Ahrendts brings to Apple and Twitter’s growing role in retail sales.

Jay-Z — under increasing pressure to back out of a collaboration with the luxury store Barneys New York after it was accused of racially profiling two black customers — said Saturday he's being unfairly "demonized" for just waiting to hear all of the facts. The rap mogul made his first statement about the controversy in a posting on his website. He's come under fire for remaining silent as news surfaced this week that two young black people said they were profiled by Barneys after they purchased expensive items from its Manhattan store.

Apple's product event in San Francisco on Oct. 22 featured the expected upgrades to the iPad and MacBook lines, with better processors, sharper displays and increased battery life. The bigger news was quietly rolled out a little more than a month ago, when Apple unleashed iOS 7 onto the world. Embedded in the mobile operating system's flashier interface and multitasking features is a new technology called iBeacon that can pinpoint your location to within a few feet.

Sears, once America's golden retailer, is a company in crisis. The company has shuttered hundreds of stores in recent years. The embattled company has been selling some its most profitable stores to raise money. Brian Sozzi, chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, took poignant photos inside of New Jersey and New York Sears locations. "To understand why Sears is in a ‘sell stores mode,’ one must look no further than the stores themselves, where the truth is to be found," Sozzi writes. His photos show the sad reality of what Sears is today.

Each company's founding myth is important, but the story matters more if it's bundled up in the sales pitch. Filson makes heavy wool jackets and hearty bags and other assorted outdoor gear from a bygone era (no Gore-Tex or Velcro here). Company founder Clinton C. Filson began in 1897, in Seattle, as an outfitter to prospectors headed to the Klondike for the gold rush. The story is central to what Filson is and the company's appeal. People — men, almost exclusively — have trusted C.C. Filson's product for more than 100 years for hunting, fishing, prospecting, logging and other outdoor pursuits. 

Luxury retailer Saks has had quite a busy 2013. Late July brought the company to a new owner, Canada's Hudson's Bay. Mid-September brought forth the resignations of both the company's president and its CEO. At the end of September, the company launched its much anticipated, three years in the making, $95 million overhaul of Saks OFF Fifth's e-commerce presence. Now, in mid-October, Saks has announced more big plans. "The Saks Fifth Avenue Man," or simply "The Fifth Man," is a new concept store Saks has developed in collaboration with luxury retail designers Jeffrey Hutchinson and Associates. 

Customers with electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards cleared shelves at Wal-Mart stores in two Louisiana cities on Saturday night, when the cards weren't showing limits, KSLA News 12 in Shreveport, La., reported. The influx of shoppers in Springhill and Mansfield led to empty shelves in the stores. The glitch-inspired shopping spree ended after a few hours; the EBT cards started showing the limits again around 9 p.m., and customers left their carts filled with food before the checkout, according to the report. EBT cards deliver government benefits electronically with a set spending limit.