Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

Industry news for the week of April 6, 2009

MANAGEMENT CHANGES:

Milliken & Co. (LaGrange, Ga.) has appointed Laura Roman director of design for its hospitality carpet business.

STORE OPENINGS:

Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) announced it will open off-price Nordstrom Rack stores this fall at the Arbor Lakes shopping center in Maple Grove, Minn., and at the Westfield Oakridge fashion center in San Jose, Calif..

Aeropostale Inc. (New York), a mall-based specialty retailer of casual and active apparel, has opened its store outside of North America, in the Oasis Centre Mall in Dubai, U.A.E.

Payless ShoeSource (Topeka, Kans), a specialty family footwear retailer, has opened its first stores in the Middle East, in The Avenues mall in Kuwait and in the Sahara Mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Broadway at the Beach (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) announced that these 11 new retailers will join the complex's tenant mix during 2009: Denim Exchange, Tsunami Surf Shop, U Rock, King Kong Sushi, Sparkles (Where Stars are Born...), Mango's Swimsuit Boutique, Surf's Up, Initial Touch, Loose Lucy's and Broadway Tourist Tips - Holiday Inn Club Vacations. Additionally, a 35,000 square foot WonderWorks interactive "amusement park for the mind" will open in the entertainment complex in spring 2010.

BUSINESS BRIEFS:

Robert A. McGraw Architect (Laguna Beach, Calif.) is updating the façade of von Hemert Interiors’ 55-year-old store in Laguna Beach, Calif. The front of the remodeled store will feature a classic Tuscan style, echoing the design of many homes along the coastline in California’s Orange County.