How Jos. A. Bank made the most of the recession

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August 2, 2011 News for the retail industry   Industry Watch  Lands' End names former Liz Claiborne executive as CEO Sears Holdings' Lands' End has named former Liz Claiborne executive Edgar Huber as its new CEO and president. Huber's resume also includes stints as president and CEO of Juicy Couture and a senior position at L'Oreal, where he oversaw a stable of brands that included Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Lancome and Kiehl's. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (8/1)      Private-equity firm takes a stake in Talbots New York-based Sycamore Partners has acquired a 9.9% equity interest in Talbots, the firm said Monday. The newly formed private-equity firm is headed by retail veteran Stefan Kaluzny, a former partner at Golden Gate Capital, which paid $75 million to acquire the J. Jill brand from Talbots in 2009. American City Business Journals/Boston (8/1), The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (8/2)      How Jos. A. Bank made the most of the recession Jos. A. Bank grew during the downturn, adding 110 stores since 2008 and using promotions, savvy marketing and even an offer to take back suits from the newly laid off to boost sales and brand loyalty. Now, experts say, as other companies struggle to recover, the chain is positioned to lead in an industry that was already challenged by the trend away from suits toward more casual work attire when the recession hit. The Sun (Baltimore) (8/1)      Other News Lacoste reopens renovated NYC flagship Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (8/1)      Ross Dress for Less to enter Chicago market with 12 stores Chicago Tribune (8/1)      Maximize Your Business's Potential. Choose the American Express OPEN® Charge Card that's right for your established business. • Purchasing Power • Savings on business expenses • Cash flow flexibility • More rewards American Express OPEN®. Apply Now.   Retail trends    How to thwart a criminal flash mob Flash mobs -- groups that arrange to meet in a certain place at a prearranged time -- often aim to do nothing more than amuse the crowd and dance together for a YouTube video, but a growing number of criminal flash mobs are meeting up to wreck stores and steal merchandise, often injuring people in their wake, writes NRF's Joe LaRocca. NRF has issued new guidelines for retailers looking to protect themselves against flash mobs. Retail's BIG Blog (8/2)        Airports' captive audiences help create new retail venues Airports are boasting a more diverse lineup of retailers than ever, as merchants looking to boost sales as mall business slows are drawn to the captive audiences. Mango now operates two stores at San Francisco International Airport, Victoria's Secret has opened seven airport stores in the past two years, and Brooks Brothers plans to add about five stores per year to the 26 it now operates. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (8/1)      Other News Luxury-goods growth remains strong, thanks to demand in Asia The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (7/30)      Networking for a dynamic infrastructure: getting it right. Organizations are turning to virtualization and consolidation of server and storage resources to help improve efficiency and performance in the data center. Read this paper to see how a holistic approach to network planning and design can deliver optimal value for your dynamic IT infrastructure.   Retail Technology    American Eagle's Times Square sign is a premium ad space American Eagle's New York flagship in Times Square opened to big buzz in 2009, but the giant LED sign on the side of the building has been the biggest attraction for many advertisers. The apparel chain has used the 25-story animated screen, which covers a corner, both to advertise its own wares and lease the space to others including an ad for tourism in Mexico, a huge ad for luxury watches from Milus and a "Harry Potter" movie promotion. Adweek/AdFreak blog (8/1)      Don’t miss DMA2011— The Global Event for Real-Time Marketers. You’ll hear thousands of practitioners and experts discuss solutions and best practices to achieve optimal channel mix and integration that lead to measurable results and increase real-time customer engagement. Save an extra $300 when you register now with Keycode SMB3.   Main Street    Toy store shifts to members-only shopping to deter thieves Shoplifters at Linda Becker's toy and hobby shop in Novato, Calif., have become bolder than ever during the past couple of years, a trend Becker hopes to nip in the bud with a new system that requires all shoppers to fill out membership forms and submit a driver's license. Becker isn't alone in looking for new ways to prevent theft; last year, merchants lost about $12.1 billion to shoplifters, up 3.4% from the year before, according to NRF figures. Marin Independent Journal (Calif.) (8/1)      Other News How to minimize your employees' risk of heat-related injury The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (8/1)      Download Your FREE Chapters from acclaimed speaker and author Wayne Eckerson’s book – Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business. Enjoy this compliments of CFO Magazine's CFO Corporate Performance Management Conference.   Sponsored Content    Bone Tired? Make It Through The Day Helen Jane Heam What You Can Learn From A Gang Leader Barry Moltz 4 Business Tips That Can Save The World Tom Harnish 4 Ways To Handle Rejection In Business RIEVA LESONSKY 4 Influencer Tools To Measure Your Social Media Capital TJ McCue   NRF News  What's hot in retail (and at NRF) July 2011 brought a sweltering heat wave across the country, the unveiling of the STORES Magazine Top 100 Retailers list, a campaign by the CEO of The Container Store to bring more of today's students into retail careers, and the release of this year's back-to-school sales survey. View a complete list of the most popular resources and articles in retail from last month. Read more.      NRF SmartStat: Aug. 2, 2011 Half of all consumers surveyed said that the state of the U.S. economy will cause them to shop for sales more often during the back-to-school season. Source: NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch.        NRF commends elected officials on bipartisan debt ceiling deal as bill moves to Senate With the Senate scheduled to vote today on legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay commended administration and congressional leaders for working together to strike a deal. As part of the agreement to raise the debt ceiling, a special joint congressional committee will be formed to consider further deficit reductions. Read more.      Learn more about NRF -> Join NRF  |  Govt Relations  |  NRF Events  |  STORES  |  NRF Foundation   Chain Restaurant News  Cracker Barrel's leadership succession plan gets to the top Over the past couple of years, Cracker Barrel has been moving along with a management-succession process that has brought in a new CFO and cut more than 60 management jobs. Just announced: Sandra Cochran, president and chief operating officer of the company since 2010, will take the reins as president and CEO, effective in September. American City Business Journals/Nashville, Tenn. (8/1)      Five Guys leads fastest-expanding restaurant chains Five Guys Burgers and Fries grew out of a single location in Lorton, Va., and has garnered the top national spot in STORES Magazine's annual Hot 100 ranking in the American restaurants category. Other leaders in the ranking include Jimmy John's, Chipotle, BJ's Restaurants and Wingstop. American City Business Journals/Washington, D.C. (8/1)        Editor's Note  Correction A summary in yesterday's NRF SmartBrief incorrectly identified STORES' 2011 Hot 100 Retailers list, a ranking of the fastest-growing retail chains in the U.S. SmartBrief regrets the error.      Director, Safety and Health OfficeMax Naperville, IL Business Services Specialist Headquarters, Marine Corps Community Services Quantico, VA Sales Associate Saks Fifth Avenue Phoenix, AZ Sales Associate Saks Fifth Avenue- San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA Loss Prevention Exception Reporting Manager Stein Mart Jacksonville, Florida, FL Sales & Education Executive Napoleon Perdis Cosmetics Nationwide, United States Business Analyst Five Below, Inc. Philadelphia, PA District Manager Five Below, Inc. Philadelphia, PA SALES ASSOCIATES AND BEAUTY SPECIALISTS SAKS FIFTH AVENUE STAMFORD, CT SALES ASSOCIATES AND SALES SUPPORT ASSOCIATES SAKS FIFTH AVENUE HUNTINGTON STATION, LONG ISLAND, NY SALES ASSOCIATES SAKS FIFTH AVENUE TROY, MI Senior Retail Marketing Advertising Manager Cabela's Sidney, NE Sales Associate UNIQLO Manhattan, NY IT Opportunities Belk Inc. Charlotte, NC Manager, Product Training Samsung Electronics America, Inc Ridgefield Park, NJ Fashion Buyer Target Minneapolis, MN Store Manager - Bealls Bealls Orlando, FL   SmartQuote  Travel and society polish one, but a rolling stone gathers no moss, and a little moss is a good thing on a man." --John Burroughs, American naturalist and essayist        This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Grab our News Widget Publish your Press Release   Advertise Associate Publisher:  Susan W. 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