DATATRAC: Apparel Specialty Stores and Department Stores – August 2018

Personnel Updates

• Ascena Retail Group Inc. (85) has promoted Andrew Clarke to President of its Loft brand. In addition, Julie Rosen was promoted to President of the Ann Taylor and Lou & Grey brands.

• Barneys New York Inc. (44) announced Jay Bell will be promoted to the role of GMM Women’s. The retailer has also named Katherine Monasebian as Chief Digital and Technology Officer.

• Destination Maternity Corporation (49) announced that David Stern, Exec VP and CFO, has left the company.

• The J. Jill Group Inc. (51) announced the appointment of Brian Beitler as Exec VP, Chief Marketing and Brand Development Officer. Shelley Liebsch has joined the company as Senior VP, Chief Merchandising Officer.

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. (86) announced it has appointed Calvin McDonald as CEO.

• Nordstrom Inc. (253) has named Edmond Mesrobian as Chief Technology Officer.

• Stage Stores Inc. (102) announced Oded Shein, Exec VP, CFO and Treasurer, resigned from his position. The company has appointed Jason Curtis, Senior VP, Finance and Credit, as interim CFO and Treasurer.

• Tailored Brands, Inc. (145) announced the appointment of Richard Hansen as Senior VP Strategy and Analytics. The retailer also announced the appointment of Samantha Lee as Senior VP, Chief Digital Officer.

Financial Focus

• National Stores Inc., which operates under the Fallas brand and others, filed for chapter 11 protection and announced plans to close 74 of its 344 stores.

• Samuels Jewelers Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection. Its 122 stores and its e-commerce site will remain open for business as the company seeks to restructure its finances while continuing normal business operations.

Industry Insight

• Tory Burch LLC has opened its first store in Australia, in the city of Sydney. The company plans to open a second store in Melbourne in December.

• VF Corporation announced that it is separating into two independent, publicly traded companies: VF Corporation, which will include The North Face, Timberland, Vans, Jan Sport, Kipling and Dickies and the VF outlet business. Lee, Wranger and the other denim brands will make up the second, yet-to-be named company. VF Corporation said it will move its global headquarters from Greensboro, NC, to the metro Denver area. The new company will be based in Greensboro. The spinoff is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019.

Real Estate

• Ben Sherman North America will open a new store in New York. Located in the city’s SoHo neighborhood, the 2,000 sq. ft. store will debut in September with a new retail concept from the brand.

• JCPenney Company, Inc. announced the opening of a new location in Brooklyn, NY at Kings Plaza shopping center. The 75,000 sq. ft. store is designed from the ground up for energy efficiency.

• Kendra Scott will soon open its first New York store. The 1,700 sq. ft. flagship will be in the city’s SoHo neighborhood.

• Lilly Pulitzer Inc. is opening a location in Southern California in early 2019. The company also announced plans to open a smaller-format store within the Ritz-Carlton at Key Biscayne in Miami in September.

• Macy’s Inc. recently opened a Macy’s Backstage in the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.

• Ross Stores Inc. has announced the rollout of 22 Ross Dress for Less and eight dd’s DISCOUNTS across 12 states and Washington, DC during June and July.

• Warby Parker recently opened its first Connecticut store, in downtown Greenwich.

Just because we don’t mention it here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen – or we didn’t capture it. In the past four weeks, we’ve updated more than 234 companies in the Apparel Specialty Stores and Department Stores & Shoe Retailers PLUS Databases, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.