Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Reprinted from The New York Times
The Walt Disney Company, with the help of Steven P. Jobs and his retailing team at Apple, intends to drastically overhaul its approach to the shopping mall.
At a time when many retailers are still cutting back or approaching strategic shifts with extreme caution, Disney is going the other way, getting more aggressive and putting into motion an expensive and ambitious floor-to-ceiling reboot of its 340 stores in the United States and Europe — as well as opening new ones, including a potential flagship in Times Square.
Disney Stores, which the media giant is considering rebranding Imagination Park, will become more akin to cozy entertainment hubs. The chain’s traditional approach of displaying row after row of toys and apparel geared to Disney franchises will be given a high-tech makeover and incorporated into a new array of recreational activities. The goal is to make children clamor to visit the stores and stay longer, perhaps bolstering sales as a result. Over the next five years, analysts estimate that Disney will spend about $1 million a store to redecorate, reorganize and install interactive technology. (more…)
Tags: Apple, branding, Disney, Disney Store, entertainment, malls, redevelopment, shopping, shopping center
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Monday, October 26th, 2009
Reprinted from CrainesNewYork.com
The Limited’s SoHo pop-up shop, doing brisk business, will stick around through the holidays.
More than just a limited engagement, trendy apparel retailer The Limited is extending its four-day pop-up shop in SoHo through the end of December, the company said Thursday.
Last week, Limited opened a temporary, store at 134 Spring St., between Wooster and Greene streets, after a decade-long absence from the New York market. But executives of the Columbus, Ohio-based firm were “pleasantly surprised, as it performed at the same level as one of their top-tier stores,” according to a spokeswoman. Sales, which were not disclosed, were high enough to persuade the company to extend the 3,400-square-foot shop through Dec. 28. It’s a sign, retail brokers say, that the retailer might be closer to taking a permanent location here. (more…)
Tags: Christmas, Limited, new york, pop-up shop, Retail, shopping, Soho
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Thursday, June 11th, 2009
End of the Urban Mall
National retail chains can hardly lead a re-imaging of the city, any more than bars and clubs, and especially not hotels with their ever expanding demand for publicly supported convention centers, stadiums and arenas to fill their rooms. Likewise, chain stores occupying the latest version of an urban mall, once considered to be the panacea of an up and coming city, are now so risk adverse that they have long lost any real interest in downtown locations other than a handful of the most vibrant cities.
(more…)
Tags: community, consumers, malls, Retail, shopping, shops, suburban malls, town centers, urban malls
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Friday, April 17th, 2009
So I have received several emails stating that apparently Barbie is the new “it” girl in the fashion world. Here is some more information of la femme du jour.
Barbie turn 50, hits New York Fashion Week and then Paris!
At New York’s Fashion week Barbie invited fashion’s finest and the little ladies in their lives to a chic fashion show in celebration of her 50th Birthday. Though it seems she hasn’t aged at all, 50 designers created unique looks for the timeless icon. Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Kenneth Cole, Marchesa, Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, Badgley Mischka and Catherine Malandrino, many of whom have collaborated with Mattel on outfits in the past, were among those whose looks hit the runway on live bombshells. “I had a Barbie before I had a G.I. Joe,” noted Wang. Malandrino, who sat front row, was elated to see her flag dress hit the pink runway. “The flag is the ultimate dress for the most famous American icon,” she said. “Barbie is a glamour icon with an endless wardrobe, a dream house and lots of cute friends. What’s not to love?,” asked Peter Som.
(more…)
Tags: Barbie, fashion, Retail, shopping, toys
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Friday, April 17th, 2009
The toymaker Mattel is facing dwindling sales in the U.S., as little girls no longer aspire to look like Barbie, an embodiment of perfection that no longer fits our national consciousness. The edgier and less perfect Bratz dolls have become a popular alternative, and they’ve taken away Barbie’s spotlight.
(more…)
Tags: Barbie, China, Retail, shopping, toys
Posted in Retail | 2 Comments »