"Nordstrom Local is something that you're going to hear more about, and we think we have the underpinnings of something very special there,” -Nordstrom Spokesperson on Nordstroms opening 2 more merchandise free stores.

The fashion and retail industry has been buzzing about Nostrums “Merchandise free” store. While they have kept results of the store closed off to most, opening up 2 more retail stores shows promising signs. The stores are designed to emulate more of a showroom focused squarely on services like buy online, pickup in store in addition to tailoring, stylist consulting and even nail services.

“It’s about constantly learning and getting everyone on board to make sure they know it’s part of the mission. How we got here is that we just did it for years, and a big part of that was the people we attracted along the way — people who understand the complexities of simplicity and sustainability by nature. It was built in from the ground up." - Eileen Fischer on 34 years in sustainable fashion.

When Eileen Fischer started her namesake brand in 1984 she didn’t set out to lead the way in sustainability in fashion. Her goal was to make clothing that would outlast everything else in her customers closet. As customers grow increasingly curious about sustainability practices, brands that genuinely practice sustainability and educate their customers about it are winning.

“A common problem is lack of alignment around product pricing and sales force compensation strategies. This both demotivates salespeople and inadvertently encourages them to sacrifice company profits to meet their own goals.” - Harvard Business Review, on the problems of not aligning sales and marketing.

Harvard Business Review examined a fortune 500 B2B company that spent a quarter of a million dollars examining what they thought was the problem behind a product lines failure. After further inspection, the problem, which numerous other companies face, was not poor product timing and a poor salesforce, rather misaligned goals from marketing and sales.

“We are confident this evolving direction will be something both longtime J.Crew loyalists and new customers will eagerly engage with.” - JCrew on its relaunch this fall.

While it’s no secret that JCrew has seen declining sales, layoffs, and loss of top talent like Creative Director Jenna Lyons, the brand is ready for an overhaul and will be "relaunching" this fall. Relying on the success of sister brand Madewell, JCrew will be reinvesting in a loyalty program and digital technologies to create a more personalized experience for its customers.