Really?? Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave. Flagship to Open on Thanksgiving

What are they thinking??? Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue will be open for business on Thanksgiving Day, taking the competition by surprise by breaking the long-held tradition of remaining closed for the revered family holiday.

All of Manhattan’s other main flagships — Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s — will stay closed Thanksgiving Day, although Lord & Taylor’s decision could force the hand of some to extend hours somehow.

Macy’s did open all of its stores last year at midnight following Thanksgiving Day to get the jump on Black Friday and will probably do it again this year because the strategy was considered successful. But under no circumstances will Macy’s or its sister division Bloomingdale’s be open Thanksgiving Day. “It’s parade day. We wouldn’t do that to our employees,” said one Macy’s source.


Lord & Taylor’s decision could irk many of its employees. But one source close to the retailer said, “Lord & Taylor wouldn’t do it if they didn’t have the associates to volunteer. They wouldn’t do it if the workers weren’t happy.” L&T said those working Thanksgiving Day are indeed volunteers and will get holiday pay, and that a portion of the day’s sales will go to charity.

One salesperson at the Lord & Taylor flagship, who didn’t seem particularly excited at the prospect of working Thanksgiving Day, noted those who do will have some flexibility in their schedules for Black Friday if they were supposed to work then. Lord & Taylor will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

“We have new management,” said another selling associate at the store, giving one explanation for why he thought the Thanksgiving Day policy changed.

Just the flagship will be open on Thanksgiving. Suburban stores will be closed.

Source: WWD

Cam Newton To "Join" Belk

Belk Inc. has drafted quarterback Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers for a men’s line to bolster the store’s “modern Southern style” campaign.

Beginning this coming spring, Belk will sell an exclusive men’s collection of suits, sport coats and sportswear called Made Cam Newton. It will bear the quarterback’s signature and offer “fashion-forward, versatile, professional apparel options for men,” according to Belk. Made Cam Newton will be carried in 133 stores and on belk.com, and by fall 2013, the collection will add accessories and shoes.

“It really is a collection with a young vibe in terms of mixing and matching,” Kathryn Bufano, Belk’s president and chief merchandising officer, said, noting that the collection can be dressed up or worn for a more casual look, and that items are set at better, entry-level prices including $28 T-shirts, $120 blazers, khakis for $60, and suits around $200. That’s about 30 to 35 percent lower than Polo, she noted.

Made Cam Newton will be housed between Black Brown 1826 men’s wear designed by Joseph Abboud that Belk sells exclusively in its regions, and contemporary denim. “We are dedicating nice square footage, 500 to 1,200 square feet” for Made Cam Newton, Bufano said. The suits will also sell in the suits department for double exposure. The collection is designed by Belk’s in-house team in collaboration with Newton.

“He’s not a designer but he has a very strong sense of style,” Bufano said. “He wants to set an example for young people that looking sharp gives you more confidence.”

“He’s one of today’s emerging style icons,” added John Thomas, Belk’s executive vice president of private brands.

A Women's Accessories Designer shoots 10 near Empire State Bldg.

Jeffrey Johnson, age 53, a women's accessories designer for a company named Hazan, has been identified as the lone gunman who shot at least 10 people outside the Empire State Building in New York on Friday morning around 9 a.m. Two people are confirmed dead. The gunman was reportedly firing indiscriminately at people, and was reportedly shot dead by a New York Police Department officer, although it is still under investigation. Commercial access around the Empire State Building has been blocked off. Macy's, which is a block away, remains open for business. "Fifth Avenue was shut down to vehicular traffic. Foot traffic is still normal. Our store is open," said a Macy's spokeswoman.


The Empire State Building was roped off, surrounded by police cars, helicopters overhead, and a press conference was about to begin on 5th Avenue and 35th St.

Shoe Companies Leaving China...Fast!!

With cost pressures mounting in Asia — and a renewed sense of patriotism that focuses on job-creation — a number of American footwear firms are moving production back to the U.S. "Manufacturing overseas is becoming less attractive: Transportation, material and labor costs are skyrocketing, and you've also got ocean carriers implementing slow steaming to save fuel, so it's taking even longer to get product," said Nate Herman, VP of international trade for the American Apparel & Footwear Association. "That doesn't work for the type of retail environment we're in, where companies need to react to trends and changes in the market more quickly than ever." Following decades of sharp declines, the amount of shoes being made in the U.S. has inched up each year since 2009, Herman said. This year, 30 million of the 2 billion pairs of shoes sold in the U.S. will be produced domestically. Herman predicted the upward trend will only continue as the cost advantages of producing overseas begin to disappear and more footwear firms look to capitalize on the many benefits of making shoes at home, including significantly shorter lead times and greater control and flexibility. "The situation in China is very uncertain. 


Prices continue to creep up, and it's increasingly challenging to manage logistics and quality control, especially as a smaller company," said Arkady Altskan, GM of Baltimore-based comfort brand Pilgrim Shoes, which opened U.S. production last year. "We want to stay ahead of the changes. So far, having our own factory here has been a huge advantage." Still, manufacturing domestically is a difficult process to navigate. Perhaps the biggest challenge is the lack of infrastructure. "Back in the heyday of American shoemaking, you had everything you needed here, from machinery and processes to a robust supply chain, but those things don't exist anymore. If you're going to start manufacturing here, you're basically going it alone. You're reinventing those processes," said Colin Hall, chief marketing officer of Port Washington, Wis.-based Allen Edmonds, which has been manufacturing exclusively in the States since 1922.

John Wilson, VP of manufacturing for New Balance, another veteran of the U.S. with five factories in the New England area, said he is optimistic that as more footwear firms move production back onshore, the domestic supplier base will begin to revitalize. "It hopefully will drive the need for raw materials suppliers to relocate, improving the supply chain and infrastructure here," he said. "We've seen that in the shoe industry's migration to different parts of Asia over the years — the raw materials companies moved their plants closer to the manufacturing sites."

source: WWD

JC PENNEY PUTS EVERYTHING ON SALE

Nike Did Not Learn from the 80's; LeBron Sneakers to Test $300 Limit

Really Nike, $300 for sneakers? I remember the news headlines for the late 80's and early 90's "Kid shot over sneakers" and the announcement of Nike introducing a pair of $300 sneakers took me back to a time when inner city kids lived in fear of getting robbed. Some say, well times have changed and people don't do that anymore. REALLY? Take a look at this ARTICLE. 
Listen, I understand that Nike needs to make a buck all I'm saying is does it need to be at the expense of their target market.

Nike unveiled the LeBron X, shown, at the 2012 Olympic gold-medal basketball game between the U.S. and Spain. Analysts expect that this 10th LeBron shoe will retail for around $315.

 

 

Will Best Buy become the next "Circuit City"

Profit at struggling electronics retailer Best Buy Co. tumbled in its latest quarter as consumers shifted to lower-margin products such as phones and tablets, sending shares of the nation's largest specialty consumer-electronics retailer plunging.
The Richfield, Minn.-based retailer also said it has reduced its earnings outlook for the year on lower industry sales expectations, uncertainty surrounding new product launches and its naming on Monday of a new chief executive. The company declined to issue a new profit forecast. In May, it had forecast an annual profit of between $3.50 and $3.80 a share.
On Monday, it named Hubert Joly, chief executive of Carlson Cos., a hospitality and travel company as new CEO effective Sept. 1.

Head Geek; Hubert Joly

The worse-than-expected results sent Best Buy shares to nine-year lows on Tuesday. Combined with a similar selloff Monday, the company is on track to lose a fifth of its market value in just two days. Its stock was recently trading down 5.5%, or $1.01, at $17.15 on the New York Stock Exchange. It suspended a share-buyback program that acquired 6.3 million shares in the first quarter at an average price of $19.28 a share.
The big-box retailer said same-store sales—which reflect revenue at stores, call centers and websites operating for at least 14 months—fell 3.2% in the latest period. It is the eighth time in the last nine quarters Best Buy's comparable-store sales have dropped.
In the U.S., same-store sales fell 1.6%. Its biggest category, computing and mobile phones, continued steady same-store sales growth domestically, a bright spot considering other retailers' reports that shoppers are biding time on personal-computer purchases ahead of new Windows operating system in fall. However, the company noted that strength was based in tablet and mobile phone sales.
Its key consumer electronics sales kept dwindling, this time with a 9.6% domestic drop.
Best Buy was the latest retailer to report a downturn internationally, with an 8.2% drop in international same-store sales linked largely to slowing consumer spending in China.