Retailers Target Gay Shoppers … and More Industry News

STORE OPENINGS
London-based luxury brand Mulberry opened its first San Francisco store at Grant Avenue near Union Square, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The new shop features porcelain-tiled walls, along with brass and gold accents.

Wild Birds Unlimited (Carmel, Ind.), which targets birders and budding ornithologists, opened its first store in Alberta, Canada recently. A 1770-square-foot Edmonton shop joins the company’s 270 franchises in the U.S. and Canada. The stores stock bird seed, feeders, houses and nature-inspired gifts.

BUSINESS BRIEFS
With a nod to the increasing buying power of gay men and women in the U.S., retailers are seeking new ways to connect with this demographic, The Wall Street Journal reports. While targeted media was used to reach gays and lesbians in the past, new ad campaigns are being promoted through mainstream outlets. According to The Journal, these efforts include JCPenney’s hiring of spokesperson Ellen DeGeneres and same-sex greeting cards at Target.

Fast Retailing Co. (Yamaguchi City, Japan), the parent company for Uniqlo, reported a 7 percent slump in same-store sales in June and lowered its income forecast for its current fiscal year, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The company has expanded its international reach in recent years as sales in Japan declined.