apparel: December 2008 Archives

Some interesting reading this weekend from two major newspapers.

Barron's: Struggling to Survive at the Mall. Summarizes a lot of what we've been seeing this season, and reports on a wide range of brands and department stores. Since it's Barron's, each company comes with a stock price evaluation as well.

New York Times: Handful of Niche Chains Stay Alive in Retailing. The teen market is doing better than most this season, particularly at Urban Outfitters, and other retailers (like Kohl's and Aeropostale) are well-positioned to weather the recession.

Regional menswear chain S&K is closing 58 stores, 30 percent of total, and has put its headquarters up for sale as part of a restructuring plan. The company cited difficulties in the current retail economy as a major factor within a long-term initiative to cut costs.

Hey, how about some good news? Forever 21 and Kohl's made a joint acquisition of 46 former Mervyn's stores. Fifteen of the locations will become Forever 21 stores and the other 31 will turn into Kohl's. Kohl's is maintaining its plan to open 50 new stores in 2009.

Women's clothing retailer B. Moss joined the list of Chapter 11 retailers with a filing Tuesday. The company, nearly 70 years old, has stores in 19 states. B. Moss hopes to begin going-out-of-business sales this weekend and close most of its 70 stores by the end of the year. A potential sale fell through earlier in the year.

This one's interesting: La Redoute, a globally distributed women's clothing retailer, is closing its website December 16. The company operates a web-and-catalog business in the United States through Redcats USA. I'm unable to find news about the closing, but the site's home page indicates a final liquidation sale (see screenshot).

Here's the "interesting": La Redoute on a corporate level is refocusing on its Internet business, with a restructuring plan that includes closing 81 outlets and ceasing its mail-order catalog. The company's online focus must not include the US market.