Week In Review

News

As of Thursday, October 3, 2019

There’s a race among retailers to offer same-day delivery. In April, Amazon announced free one-day shipping for its Prime subscribers. In March, Walmart introduced free one-day shipping for orders of $35 or more. On Oct. 1, Macy’s got involved in the race. The department-store giant offered free same-day delivery to shoppers in 30 markets across the U.S. who spend $75 or more.

The Fashion.com domain should attract millions of people in internet searches, but it currently isn’t in use. The domain fashion.com was registered by three fashion students in 1994. They have not accepted any offers to buy it, but a representative for the unnamed group announced Oct. 1 that it will auction the domain later this year. A statement from Peter Johnson, an adviser to the domain owners, forecasted the auction could command one of the highest prices paid for a domain name. Auction services are scheduled to be provided by auction-experts.com.

Rip Curl, one of the world’s top surfwear brands, was sold for more than $234 million to Kathmandu, a New Zealand–headquartered outdoors brand. The deal was announced Sept. 30 on the website of the Australian-headquartered Rip Curl, which runs a U.S. corporate office in Costa Mesa, Calif. A Rip Curl statement said that the 50-year-old brand would maintain its independence. Xavier Simonet, Kathmandu’s chief executive officer, said that the merger would make his company into a global player. “Rip Curl transforms Kathmandu into a highly complementary, seasonally balanced, global outdoor and action-sports business,” Simonet said. “The combination will support the acceleration of our brands’ global expansion into new channels and markets.”

Nordstrom is scheduled to open a highly anticipated full-line store in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle on Oct. 24. “The Nordstrom NYC flagship will represent the biggest and best statement of the brand and the largest single-project investment in Nordstrom history,” said a statement from the Seattle-headquartered department-store company. The new shop will span seven levels and offer categories including contemporary clothing, accessories, shoes, beauty and children’s items. The flagship store also will feature six restaurants.

St. John Knits named Zoe Turner as its new creative director. Turner will be responsible for directing the brand’s creative vision ranging from its collections and retail environments to its multimedia presence. Turner’s résumé includes design work at fashion houses such as Dior, Alberta Ferretti and the Max Mara Fashion Group, said Joann Cheng, chairman of the Fosun Fashion Group, which acquired a majority interest in St. John in 2017. “We believe Zoe can introduce St. John to a larger audience through reinterpreting the brand codes and modernizing the collections,” Cheng said.