Gap

The New York Times recently ran an article detailing how F-commerce is doing. For anyone in need of a refresher, F-commerce was one of those ideas everyone was really excited about when it first popped up back in 2009, but it never really took off. Gap, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom and ASOS all shuttered their Facebook boutiques shortly after launching them. (We did an informal reader survey on the topic back in February: the majority of the 100-plus responders had never heard of F-commerce.) The Times is now reporting that although larger brands have bombed, small businesses are benefitting.

There's a question hanging over newly IPO'd Facebook that's generating a lot of discussion: Is social commerce — i.e., having an online store within Facebook or another social site — working? This comes after a few big brands, including Gap, GameStop and J.C. Penney, closed their failed Facebook stores earlier this year.General Motors pulling its advertising from Facebook didn't boost confidence that the social networking site is effective at generating income for businesses other than itself.

To help brands protect against the chaos that ensues as a result of a data security breach — not to mention the potential lost revenue — Tim Toews, a web security consultant and former chief information officer at Office Depot, offered a 10-step plan to help retailers maintain control of their business space (i.e., their network) and keep hackers out. Toews presented his plan during a session he led this week at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

Despite all the buzz around social media over the past several years, the concept of "real" social commerce — when consumers can actually buy merchandise directly from whichever social network they're visiting and wherever they happen to be — has eluded the industry.

Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.

Workers at a Cambodian garment factory that makes clothes for Levi's, Gap and other well-known international brands are striking for more pay and better working conditions. More than 5,000 workers from the Singaporean-owned SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) Ltd. failed to reach an agreement with their employers Tuesday to end an 11-day strike. Ath Thon, director of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers, said workers are demanding an increase in their base pay of $61 a month for 8-hour days, six days a week. He said they want a $5 salary hike and an extra $25 a month for transportation and housing.

When done well, iPad-enabled shopping experiences have been paying off for retailers. Unfortunately, not all online retailers have yet to capitalize on this trend. Enter Shopmox. Launched on May 9, the app aims to create a personalized shopping experience, bringing the mall to the iPad by incorporating 26 stores from half-a-dozen or so retailers, including Anthropologie, Gap, Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters, Fossil, Old Navy, Gap Kids, to name a few.

/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Piperlime, the online shop known for the freshest styles in fashion, announced it will open its first retail store this fall, at 121 Wooster St. in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. The new 4,000 square foot Piperlime store will offer a similar curated assortment as online, immersing consumers in the brand's unique shopping experience. Styled as a boutique, the store will feature the best range of coveted, iconic brands like Milly, Frye and Citizens of Humanity as well as little known finds including Tinley Road, Ash and Maison Scotch. Sponsored by: "Our customers have

We picked 23 of Internet Retailer's top 25 companies (from the IR 500) and looked at 50 brands that these companies own to find the best overall inbox delivery and open rates over the last 90 days. Piperlime.com, with 99 percent inbox delivery, and Banana Republic and iTunes at 98 percent, were at the absolute top of the inbox delivery range. Kmart, HP, Gap, Netflix, Old Navy, Best Buy and Bath & Body Works all follow closely behind with delivery in the 97th percentile.

Completing a global search that began in February, Gap announced that Stefan Larsson, a veteran of nearly 15 years with the successful fashion retailer H&M, will become the first global brand president for Old Navy.  Larsson will join the company by October. The announcement comes as Gap prepares to open its first Old Navy store outside North America, in Japan, in July.