Showing posts with label Department stores. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Department stores. Show all posts
Belk dives into social media
At 122 years old, Belk Inc. has been around a lot longer than your average Twitterholic (Twitterhead? Is this an actual term? I know not) or Facebook super-poster - but then, adapting with the times has helped the company endure in the first place. And it's with that in mind the Charlotte-based chain has launched a Twitter feed and Facebook fan page to further connect with customers, and broaden interest in the company further beyond store walls - trying a strategy that a huge range of retailers are trying across the digital landscape.
"Social media is an essential component of a company's communications arsenal today," Ivy Chin, Belk's senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a news release. "By forging an exchange of real-time information, we will be able to share our story and create consumer relationships that provide valuable feedback and information."
The Facebook page will provide information on fashion trends, product launches, sales and special events, with interactive features such as product surveys and commentary from Arlene Goldstein, vice president and fashion director. Goldstein is also the personality and force behind the Twitter feed, which features trendspotting tips and other observations. And, because we're talking retail here, the company is offering incentive for folks to sign up: Those that become a Facebook fan of Belk will receive a discount coupon.
Nordstrom Rack coming to Charlotte
Nordstrom will open its first local Nordstrom Rack off-price store next year in the former Circuit City space at Carolina Pavilion, on South Boulevard at Interstate 485. The 43,000-square-foot store is slated for a spring 2011 opening, the Seattle-based department store chain said today.
The Charlotte location is the second Rack store slated for North Carolina: Nordstrom previously announced plans to open a Rack at the Renaissance Center in Durham. That location is set to open later this September. Nordstrom also has full-line stores at SouthPark and at the Streets at SouthPoint in Durham.
Rack stores sell clearance apparel, accessories and home goods from regular Nordstrom stores at 50 to 60 percent off regular price, as well as items purchased just for Nordstrom Rack at 30 to 70 percent off of their original prices. The first Rack opened in 1975, a couple of blocks from Nordstrom's flagship store in Seattle.
The Rack in Charlotte will join another department store's off-price brand on the local retail scene: Saks Fifth Avenue's Off 5th, at Concord Mills. Unlike Nordstrom, Saks doesn't have a Charlotte full-line store, though - the closest is at Triangle Town Center in Raleigh.
The Charlotte location is the second Rack store slated for North Carolina: Nordstrom previously announced plans to open a Rack at the Renaissance Center in Durham. That location is set to open later this September. Nordstrom also has full-line stores at SouthPark and at the Streets at SouthPoint in Durham.
Rack stores sell clearance apparel, accessories and home goods from regular Nordstrom stores at 50 to 60 percent off regular price, as well as items purchased just for Nordstrom Rack at 30 to 70 percent off of their original prices. The first Rack opened in 1975, a couple of blocks from Nordstrom's flagship store in Seattle.
The Rack in Charlotte will join another department store's off-price brand on the local retail scene: Saks Fifth Avenue's Off 5th, at Concord Mills. Unlike Nordstrom, Saks doesn't have a Charlotte full-line store, though - the closest is at Triangle Town Center in Raleigh.
Merchants' December sales results: Comparatively jolly?
A host of chain retailers released their December sales results today. The overriding message: "Better than our really low expectations!" Of course, that was merchants' hope going into the 2009 holidays - that they'd be at least a little better than woeful 2008, the worst holiday shopping season in 40 years. The sales results - at least thus far - appear to bear it out, suggesting that shoppers spent at least a little bit more than in 2008, if not a lot. A fuller sense of how the season stacks up both nationally and locally will emerge in the coming weeks and months.
It still seems unclear precisely what this means heading into 2010, other than perhaps "shop-pocalypse averted." Others were taking a somewhat rosier view; MarketWatch had a story today headlined "Santa delivers for U.S. retailers." How did your favorite stores fare? Well, see for yourself in this report from consultants Retail Forward - and tell me if it squares with what you saw and spent last month.
Among the highlights and lowlights: Aeropostale (10 percent), Ross (12 percent) and T.J. Maxx (14 percent) saw the biggest gains in year-over-year December sales among apparel stores, at stores open a year or more. Charlotte-based Cato saw same-store sales rise 7 percent. Among department stores, the biggest gainer was Saks, which operates the Off 5th outlet at Concord Mills and has its closest full-line store in the Triangle. Its same-store sales rose 10 percent. Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Kohl's also saw gains; Macy's was up 1 percent, while Dillard's and J.C. Penney saw December same-store sales declines. Charlotte-based Belk doesn't release monthly sales.
Laggards on the list included teen mall-punk staple Hot Topic (same-store sales down 10.9 percent, in part due to more competing stores selling "Twilight" merchandise) and pricey preppy purveyor Abercrombie & Fitch (down 19 percent) which has been socked for months amid more value-oriented competition.
On another interesting note that speaks to the variety of competition stores face beyond other bricks-and-mortar outlets, more than half of all households shopped for holiday gifts this season at Amazon.com - an eight-percentage-point gain from 2008, according to Retail Forward. Of course, Amazon has long since gone far beyond books to offer a vast range of merchandise, making it fairly easy one-stop shopping - and far from a challenge to meet the $25 threshold for its free shipping offer. Semi-indulgent case in point: My Amazon order this Christmas included two pie crust shields, two CDs, an architecture book and a book of crossword puzzles (hi, mom!) - all ordered and paid for at one time.
It still seems unclear precisely what this means heading into 2010, other than perhaps "shop-pocalypse averted." Others were taking a somewhat rosier view; MarketWatch had a story today headlined "Santa delivers for U.S. retailers." How did your favorite stores fare? Well, see for yourself in this report from consultants Retail Forward - and tell me if it squares with what you saw and spent last month.
Among the highlights and lowlights: Aeropostale (10 percent), Ross (12 percent) and T.J. Maxx (14 percent) saw the biggest gains in year-over-year December sales among apparel stores, at stores open a year or more. Charlotte-based Cato saw same-store sales rise 7 percent. Among department stores, the biggest gainer was Saks, which operates the Off 5th outlet at Concord Mills and has its closest full-line store in the Triangle. Its same-store sales rose 10 percent. Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Kohl's also saw gains; Macy's was up 1 percent, while Dillard's and J.C. Penney saw December same-store sales declines. Charlotte-based Belk doesn't release monthly sales.
Laggards on the list included teen mall-punk staple Hot Topic (same-store sales down 10.9 percent, in part due to more competing stores selling "Twilight" merchandise) and pricey preppy purveyor Abercrombie & Fitch (down 19 percent) which has been socked for months amid more value-oriented competition.
On another interesting note that speaks to the variety of competition stores face beyond other bricks-and-mortar outlets, more than half of all households shopped for holiday gifts this season at Amazon.com - an eight-percentage-point gain from 2008, according to Retail Forward. Of course, Amazon has long since gone far beyond books to offer a vast range of merchandise, making it fairly easy one-stop shopping - and far from a challenge to meet the $25 threshold for its free shipping offer. Semi-indulgent case in point: My Amazon order this Christmas included two pie crust shields, two CDs, an architecture book and a book of crossword puzzles (hi, mom!) - all ordered and paid for at one time.
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