Department Stores

  • A store mannequin dressed in workout clothes stands in front of a rack of apparel.
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    Courtesy of Kohl's
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    Kohl’s expands private label athleisure line to kids

    The struggling department store is leaning on its proprietary brands to offer value while protecting margins.

    By • Sept. 29, 2025
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    Kendall Davis/Retail Dive
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    Podcast

    The Backroom: How the holidays are different this year

    Heading into the season, shoppers and retailers alike are getting squeezed by tariffs and mounting economic uncertainty.

    By Retail Dive Staff • Sept. 25, 2025
  • The entrance to a mall, with a white pickup truck parked to the right. Explore the Trendlineâž”
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    "Dartmouth Mall, Dartmouth, Massachusetts" by JJBers is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Retail Dive

    From tariff challenges to DEI pressure, the industry is navigating a number of headwinds in 2025.

    By Retail Dive staff
  • Two fashionable looking people, wearing sunglasses, cross a street in a crosswalk.
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    Courtesy of J.C. Penney
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    J.C. Penney furthers ‘It’s from where?’ campaign with exclusive Rebecca Minkoff tie-up

    The affordable line from the designer, like the department store’s Bob Mackie collection, is part of an effort to appeal to budget-minded fashionistas.

    By • Sept. 23, 2025
  • Gray clouds over a Kohl's store, with an entrance to Sephora.
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    Kohl’s expands fall sales event to 4 days

    The department store is offering deals on thousands of products across apparel, beauty and more online and in stores.

    By Howard Ruben • Sept. 22, 2025
  • The outside of the Macy's store in Herald Square in NYC during the holidays.
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    Kaarin Moore/Retail Dive
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    Macy’s kicks off ‘100 Days to Christmas’ with new merchandise, curated gift ideas

    The department store, which said its holiday assortment features more than 40% newness, will also expand its experiential Holiday Square concept.

    By Howard Ruben • Sept. 19, 2025
  • A massive downtown department store building.
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    "Exterior view of historic Neiman Marcus flagship store in Dallas, Texas as seen from Commerce Street." by Dfwcre8tive is licensed under CC BY 3.0
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    Dallas-area Neiman Marcus store will close after next year

    Owner Saks Global continues the renovation of the Neiman Marcus NorthPark anchor and a “potential reimagination” of the downtown store.

    By • Sept. 18, 2025
  • An Aéropostale storefront
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    J.C. Penney operator names chief wholesale and business development officer

    Catalyst Brands has tapped Michael Fernandez, who previously worked at The Levy Group and Perry Ellis International, for the position.

    By • Sept. 18, 2025
  • People walking toward a Macy's store.
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    Macy’s bets on automation to drive retail revival

    The retailer is moving workloads to the cloud, simplifying IT operations and adding AI to processes, executives said during an industry conference.

    By Lindsey Wilkinson • Sept. 18, 2025
  • Exterior of a Primark store in downtown Chicago.
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    Kaarin Moore/Retail Dive
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    Primark expands US footprint

    The global fashion retailer is celebrating 10 years in the country by taking on new leases and launching in Minnesota. 

    By • Sept. 15, 2025
  • A standup comedian performs in a JCPenney ad
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    Courtesy of JCPenney
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    Q&A

    How J.C. Penney is preparing for the holidays with laugh-out-loud deals

    Marketing chief Marisa Thalberg discusses how marketers can engage holiday shoppers amid economic uncertainty.

    By Chris Kelly • Sept. 15, 2025
  • People walking down the street, past storefronts.
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    Macy’s Inc. in search of a new Bluemercury CEO

    Maly Bernstein, who has led the beauty business for four years, decided to step down and will leave the company at the end of September.

    By • Sept. 10, 2025
  • The tops of two city buildings, with blue sky in between.
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    Macy’s posts first sales growth in years, but tariffs cast a shadow

    More staff and better visual merchandising in stores drove the namesake banner’s improvements, CEO Tony Spring said Wednesday.

    By • Sept. 3, 2025
  • A department entrance at a mall.
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    Getty Images
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    Can Dillard’s save the mall?

    The Southern department store’s investment in a Texas shopping center is a savvy business move that could spur the evolution of an aging retail model.

    By • Sept. 2, 2025
  • Pedestrians walk outside a Kohl’s store location.
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    Courtesy of Kohl's
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    Kohl’s pins recovery hopes on private label

    Despite top- and bottom-line declines, the department store beat its own expectations in Q2 and said various initiatives are bearing fruit.

    By • Aug. 27, 2025
  • A shopping mall entrance.
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    Courtesy of Trademark Property Co.
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    Dillard’s buys a shopping mall

    The department store teamed up with mixed-use developer Trademark Property Co. to acquire the 646,000-square-foot Longview Mall in Texas.

    By • Aug. 25, 2025
  • Young people model clothes from J.C. Penney's latest assortment.
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    Courtesy of J.C. Penney
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    J.C. Penney debuts Aeropostale, Hurley in fall assortment

    The department store will also carry exclusive designs from JS Jessica Simpson as it pushes forward a style and value brand position.

    By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Aug. 18, 2025
  • A store's mall entrance, with a plant in the foreground.
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    Courtesy of Dillard's
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    Dillard’s notches surprise Q2 sales gain, profits dip

    Revenue rose just 1%, but that surpassed analyst expectations. Is that good news for other department stores?

    By • Aug. 15, 2025
  • An Indochino shop-in-shop in a Nordstrom store
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    Courtesy of Indochino
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    Indochino deepens partnership with Nordstrom

    With five additional shop-in-shops slated to open in the department store’s locations, the concept will now be in 38 of Nordstrom’s stores.

    By Howard Ruben • Aug. 12, 2025
  • A window features mannequins in running apparel next to Nordstrom and Nike logos.
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    Courtesy of Nordstrom
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    Nordstrom brings on Nike for latest pop-up

    The in-store effort at The Corner in the company's New York flagship will feature apparel geared toward runners.

    By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Aug. 11, 2025
  • A Saks store in Chicago.
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    Kaarin Moore/Retail Dive
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    Vendors say Saks Global not following through on overdue payments

    CEO Marc Metrick in February acknowledged a backlog and promised outstanding invoices would be addressed beginning in July.

    By • Aug. 8, 2025
  • A person stands poolside wearing an orange maxi dress and sunglasses.
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    Courtesy of Macy's
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    A Macy’s private label gets a ‘Palm Royale’ collab

    On 34th, the first brand developed for the department store by Target veterans, released a collection from the show’s costume designer, Alix Friedberg.

    By • Aug. 4, 2025
  • A mall entrance to a department store.
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    Nearly 120 J.C. Penney stores sold to private equity for under $950M

    Executives for a trust that has worked for four years to sell the property defended the price and said a January deadline was looming.

    By • July 30, 2025
  • A smiling kid in a white printed t-shirt, dark shorts and white sneakers and socks.
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    Courtesy of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
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    Abercrombie Kids turns to Macy’s for back-to-school sales

    The department store is set to benefit from the brand’s strengths in localized merchandising, while the specialty retailer reaches new markets.

    By • July 28, 2025
  • People walking toward a Macy's store.
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    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
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    Macy’s brings back ‘Black Friday in July’ sale

    In addition to deals on clothing, accessories and beauty products, the department store is also dropping a curated selection of holiday items.

    By Howard Ruben • July 25, 2025
  • A woman and two girls walk back to school in a JCPenney ad
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    Courtesy of JCPenney
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    J.C. Penney builds on promising brand push with ‘Back-to-It’ campaign

    The retailer widens the lens on back-to-school marketing by iterating on a “Yes, J.C. Penney” positioning that has boosted visits.

    By Chris Kelly • July 22, 2025