Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/617826
• Declining traffic at Jos. A. Bank stores is hurting The Men's Wear- house. The latter said third-quarter comparable sales increased by 5.3 percent at its Men's Wearhouse stores and by 3.7 percent at its K&G; stores. Sales at the Jos. A. Bank and Moores divisions, meanwhile, were weaker. Same-store sales dropped by 5.4 percent at Canada-based Moores and by 14.6 percent at Jos. A. Bank. Through the first week of December, the quarter-to-date comparable sales at Jos. A. Bank were down by 35.1 per- cent, while average comparable sales at the retailer's other brands were up by 5.5 percent. "When we acquired Jo- seph Bank, we knew that we needed to correct the promotional model," said Doug Ewert, CEO of Men's Wear- house, in a press release. "However, we underestimated the impact to the near- term performance as we began to exe- cute the difficult, but necessary, correc- tive steps. We remain confident that these steps will restore a long-term, sustainable profit model and reshape the business for a healthy and growing Jos. A. Bank." The retailer is launching a new loyalty program and enhancing its assortment of products to draw old customers back, Ewert says. "We are looking at every opportunity for cost reduction, including store rationaliza- tion, labor, advertising and all relevant shared-service costs." • Online beauty-products retailer Birchbox has assembled a team of re- tail and real estate executives to over- see its brick-and-mortar expansion this coming year. The firm named Philippe Pinatel COO and president. Pinatel comes to Birchbox with nearly 20 years of experience at Sephora and Guerlain International, including stints as senior vice president and general manager of Sephora Canada, managing director of Guerlain France, and vice president and general manager of Sephora's port- folio of boutiques inside JCPenney stores. Birchbox also hired Ben Fay as vice president of retail development and customer experience. Fay previ- ously oversaw retail development at Apple and Penney. With its "try before you buy" model, Birchbox sends its 1 million subscribers a box of makeup or beauty-product samples each month. The retailer opened its first store in 2014, in New York City's SoHo neigh- borhood. Birchbox operates across six countries: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Belgium and Spain. The com- pany did not reveal specific expansion plans. SCT r e T a i l i n g T o d a y J a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 / S C T 27