California Apparel News

Von Maur Department Stores announced that it will open its fourth location in Michigan. Scheduled to open in fall 2020, the two-story, 122,000-square-foot Van Maur will be located at The Village of Rochester Hills in Rochester Hills, which is a 40-minute drive from Detroit. Located in a former Bon Ton space, the store is forecasted to employ 150 associates. Von Maur is on a growth spurt. In early October, it opened a location in Grand Rapids, Mich., and is scheduled to open a store in Madison, Wisc., in fall 2021.

Black Friday is forecasted to enjoy an uptick of shoppers going to physical stores, according to a survey from Genesys, a customer-service, business-consulting and professional-services company that offers products such as PureCloud. The survey found that 39 percen­t—2 percent more than the 2018 survey—intended to shop in physical stores on Black Friday while 37 percent did not want to go Black Friday shopping because the stores are too busy.

Hemster recently introduced on-demand tailoring services to retailers. Diane von Furstenberg, Outdoor Voices and Alo Yoga have partnered with the New York–based Hemster to provide altering to their customers. On Oct. 16, Hemster announced that it raised $4 million in post-seed funding. Bullpen Capital led the funding round. Also participating were Hustle Fund, Oyster Ventures, The Fund and FJ Labs. Hemster’s total funding has reached $5 million with the recent round of financing. The on-demand tailoring company will use the investment to expand markets, increase staffing and operations.

Coach will be the first luxury brand to produce a float in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, it was announced Oct. 30. For the 93rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, scheduled to take place Nov. 28, Coach will produce a float called Rexy in the City. The float will feature Coach’s mascot, the dinosaur Rexy, said Susan Tercero, executive producer of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. “On Thanksgiving Day, Rexy, the fearless fashion dino, will capture the imaginations and hearts of millions as she makes her glittering way down the streets of Manhattan,” Tercero said. Coach also will produce a Rexy-themed collection featuring leather goods, footwear and T-shirts, which will be available at Macy’s and Macys.com on Nov. 15.

Eva Chen is Instagram’s head of fashion partnerships and a children’s book author. Call it synergy—Chen has published a children’s book titled “Juno Valentine and the Fantastic Fashion Adventure.” The picture book follows the fashion crisis of the plucky girl Juno Valentine. It’s a school-picture day and her mom and dad have opposite ideas of what they want her to wear in the photo, according to a synopsis from publisher Macmillan. Juno also has to find her brother, who has disappeared into a magical hall of shoes. While looking for her brother, Juno receives guidance from gymnast Simone Biles, former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as actress Audrey Hepburn and renowned markswoman Annie Oakley. The book was released on Oct. 29. On Nov. 1, Chen and illustrator Derek Desierto are scheduled to make an appearance and sign books at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif.