When big retailers crash and burn, it seems they do so with style. The trials and tribulations of Sears/Kmart, despite its stylish moves into the fashion world, have been chronic and ongoing. Equally precarious these days is the fate of JCPenney.

In June, JCPenney brand president Michael Francis exited the troubled retailer after less than a year, in a shakeup that was seen as his taking the fall for CEO Ron Johnson. Francis, a former Target exec, along with Johnson, who formerly ran Apple's stores, couldn't combine their top shelf retail experience to effect a turnaround. On the contrary, the company's "fair and square pricing" (with the new logo at right to support the concept) essentially ditched sales and moved to Walmart-like "everyday low" pricing and twice-monthly clearance events. It was anything but successful. In fact, this lead balloon is now being replaced with a return to the more common retail strategy of a "sale."

Is it too little too late? The strapped J. C. Penney Company is cutting 350 jobs in its headquarters and selling part of its stake in Simon Property Group, a major mall developer, to raise $248 million in cash. Even so, the company is trying its darndest to crawl its way back into being a legitimate retail competitor, and that's where fashion comes in.Continue reading...

It's hardly Christmas in July — not with record heat over most of the United States. But nevertheless Target is trying to spread the deep-discount feel of some of its winter-holiday events into the dog days of summer, which are now. In the process, Target also appears to be making a direct run at JCPenney (which just announced it has hired Project Runway judge Nina Garcia, who has been moonlighting as a "Target fashion expert" in addition to her day job at Marie Claire magazine).

The Minneapolis-based Target is expanding its popular summer-exclusive "Bonus Black Friday" sale to two full days, this Friday and Saturday, with the discounts and the positioning meant to be reminiscent, of course, of the biggest day on the calendar of American retailers, the day after Thanksgiving. It's one way to attempt to generate some store traffic during the traditional lull before the back-to-school storm, which pours down in August.Continue reading...

Having just celebrated five years of the GO International collaborations with designers (see below), Target celebrates all-American fashion with a clever spot and a tune by Shirley Temple.Continue reading...

Denim shopping is an activity that can easily reduce a woman to tears. Many women – and probably some men, too – have tasted the agony of trying on pair after pair of jeans, only to give up, demoralized and committed to a new exercise regime.

Clothing companies, recognizing this frustration, have recently been competing to offer the most enjoyable, least infuriating jeans shopping experience, some even offering the opportunity to do the whole thing online, in the privacy of one’s own home, with Zappos-style user-friendly return policies a key sweetener in the home clothes shopping deal.Continue reading...

The realm of brand extensions just became a little more fashionable, as television is taking one of its most popular brands into the world of gaming.

Emerging designers can now create their own collections for a virtual fashion show. A “Project Runway” video game launches today where aspiring fashionistas create their own looks to compete in a runway challenge. Players have the ability to choose makeup and a hairstyle to complete each look. On the Wii Balance Board, players can also strut their stuff.Continue reading...