Plano, Texas — JCPenney has appointed six new vice presidents. Wendy Santana joins the company as vice president of business development. She has built an impressive career by developing private brands and creating business opportunities for leading retailers. She joins the company after 20 years at Li & Fung – LF Americas/Oxford Collections, where she most recently served as executive vice president. Santana reports to Truett Horne, senior vice president and chief transformation officer. Rounding out the senior marketing team under Shawn Gensch, executive vice president and chief customer officer, …
retailers
Addison, Texas — Northwood Retail will reposition Prestonwood Place, a 133,000-square-foot retail center located at the corner of Beltline and Montfort streets in Addison, a northern suburb of Dallas. The redevelopment is expected to be complete in early 2021. The project will convert part of the center into 50,000 square feet of office space, upgrade building façades and add a 15,000-square-foot park. Additional improvements will include reconfigured parking lots, new pedestrian walkways and refreshed landscaping. Construction will occur in four phases, with the overall completion slated for early 2021. Northwood …
Oklahoma City — Customers visiting Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores will be getting back on the road quicker thanks to the latest checkout technology available today. Ingenico Group’s Lane/8000 smart terminals are being installed at Love’s across the country. Love’s is the first travel stop network with the new technology. When the solution is combined with Love’s credit-processing software, the transaction time is cut in half. Other features include an extra-large multimedia touchscreen for an improved experience, increased security technology and additional ways to pay including contactless and with …
Vienna, Va. — The Ratner Cos., the parent company of salon concepts such as Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Salon Cielo, plans to trim its 844-store portfolio by 10%. The company plans to maintain a presence in all existing markets as it looks to shift resources to its best-performing salons. Ratner Cos. cites “intense competition and rising operating costs,” as well as shifting consumer shopping methods, as the basis for its decision. The firm has engaged in discussions with landlords to renegotiate terms or exit some of its leases. In addition …
Philadelphia — Five Below Inc. plans to open 180 stores this year, which would grow the Philadelphia-based retailer’s footprint by 20%. The announcement came during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Specific plans for the openings were not disclosed. At the same time, Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Five Below, said the company also acquired the e-commerce platform, fulfillment operation and certain other assets of Hollar.com. SOURCE: Five Below, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio — Express, Inc., a leading fashion apparel retailer, is launching a new corporate strategy that will include the closure of 100 stores over the next 2 years. “My expectation is that we will return to a mid-single-digit operating margin through a combination of low-single-digit comp sales growth, margin expansion and cost reductions,” says Tim Baxter, chief executive officer. “This will of course take some time, but we have a clear path.” Additionally, Express aims to reinvigorate its brand. Based on customer insights, the company is unveiling its new …
London — IKEA has purchased a West London shopping center, Kings Mall Shopping Centre in Hammersmith, where it will also debut its first UK small format store in spring 2021. The £170 million acquisition is part of IKEA’s strategy to develop mixed-use sites around urban stores. When it opens in 2021, the new Kings Mall store will mark the sixth London-area location for IKEA. Most recently, IKEA opened in the city in Greenwich last year. IKEA also launched two London planning studios in 2019 under its plan to develop new …
San Francisco — Gap Inc. no longer intends to separate Old Navy into a standalone public company. Additionally, the company has announced that Neil Fiske, president and CEO of Gap brand, will leave the company. “The plan to separate was rooted in our commitment to value creation from our portfolio of iconic brands,” says Robert Fisher, Gap Inc. interim president and chief executive officer. “While the objectives of the separation remain relevant, our board of directors has concluded that the cost and complexity of splitting into two companies, combined with …
Framingham, Mass. — Bose Corp. will close all of its 54 stores in the U.S., as well as many remaining locations in Australia, Japan and Europe in the coming months, totaling 119 brick-and-mortar locations. The Framingham, Mass.-based company, which specializes in audio engineering, said the closures are due to “dramatic” shifts to online shopping. Bose opened its first store in 1993 and currently has its biggest concentration of stores in the Northeast (10), Southern California (nine) and Florida (seven). “Originally, our retail stores gave people a way to experience, test and …
Toronto — Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has appointed Iain Nairn as president, effective January 12, 2020. A highly accomplished retail executive, Nairn has a remarkable track record of driving profitable growth and transformational change at a wide variety of retailers, from specialty to department store formats. He reports directly to Helena Foulkes, CEO of HBC. “We took time to conduct a thorough, worldwide search to ensure we found the right person to lead the business and steward the Hudson’s Bay brand,” Foulkes says. “Iain brings strong leadership, sharp focus and …