The “spirit of the south,” as exemplified in the men’s, women’s and children’s apparel products sold under the Southern Tide brand, has been expanded into an emerging new chain of specialty apparel stores. CEO Christopher Heyn says the stores are formed through joint ventures with various partners such as Kiawah Island, S.C.-based Island Sport LLC, a chain of men’s and women’s specialty wear stores.

Like many retailers, Algenist wanted to penetrate the emerging Chinese market with its online sales site. But also like many retailers, the provider of skin care products had limited resources to crack that market, so it looked for a partner to help it navigate the obstacles to selling in China. Ultimately, Algenist chose BorderX Lab and its Beyond app.

NRF is proud to provide our members with the online Retail Buying Guide to search for trusted vendors, products and services in the retail industry. Our guide is a user-friendly forum designed to bring suppliers and purchasers together. You can search by keyword, location, company name or category. Available whenever you need it, the Retail Buying Guide makes it easy to locate products and professional services geared to the retail industry. Click here to visit the online Retail Buying Guide! To advertise, please contact Sarah Allen for more information.

In this day of targeted media, standing out can be hard. But imagine being stuck in traffic caused by a pothole crew. As the minutes tick by, the hunger grows. What if that paving truck was decked out in familiar red, white and blue with a domino on it?

The digital edition of STORES includes must-read pieces, including the articles featured here. Read the current issue and browse the archives for issues you may have missed.

NRF will honor Levi Strauss & Co. President and CEO Chip Bergh as “The Visionary,” an award given each year to an outstanding leader in the retail industry. The award will be presented during the fifth annual NRF Foundation Gala on January 13, 2019, in New York City.

Golf-focused PGA TOUR Superstore has been rapidly opening new stores and expanding its footprint in communities across the country. On this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, Chief Marketing Officer Matt Corey discusses how the sports store is using technology to design a stand-out experience both online and offline.

NRF will host regional dinners in three cities in October, bringing retailers together to network, share insights and grow the retail community. Upcoming dinners will take place in Seattle, San Francisco and New York. Space is limited, so register early to guarantee a spot.

Kohl’s announced a strategic partnership with the Scott brothers and the launch of an exclusive home lifestyle collection, Scott Living at Kohl’s, for Fall 2019, expanding Kohl’s product assortment in home and further enhancing the company’s powerful brand portfolio. The Scott brothers, twins Drew and Jonathan Scott, draw millions of viewers and fans through their multiple HGTV programs focused on home renovation and transformation. Scott Living at Kohl’s will feature modern home basics and décor, including furniture, bedding and bath, kitchen décor and more.

In other Kohl’s news, the retailer announced the launch of EVRI, a new women’s private-label plus brand, enhancing Kohl’s modern, size-inclusive offerings for women and strengthening Kohl’s position as a destination for the plus shopper. EVRI, which stands for Easy, Versatile, Real and Inspiring, will launch at Kohl’s in Spring 2019 in sizes 0X-4X in tops and 14W-30W in bottoms and aims to empower women with stylish and functional pieces for all shapes and sizes.

Michael Kors Holdings Limited, a global fashion luxury group, announced that a definitive agreement has been signed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Italian luxury fashion house Gianni Versace S.p.A. for a total enterprise value of approximately $2.12 billion. Versace, long recognized as one of the world’s leading luxury fashion companies, is synonymous with Italian glamour and style. Michael Kors Holdings Limited will be renamed Capri Holdings Limited.

HCL Technologies, a leading global technology company, has been selected to help drive IT transformation at the UK’s third-largest grocery retailer, Asda. The three-year application services contract will see HCL transform Asda’s IT Application Services with a new DevOps delivery model to drive data and analytics and support back-office applications through the full lifecycle of development, testing and support.

PBteen, a member of the Williams-Sonoma Inc. portfolio of brands, and Benefit Cosmetics, a San Francisco-based makeup brand that believes laughter is the best cosmetic, unveiled an exclusive home décor collection. Drawing inspiration from Art Deco design and retro 1970’s shapes and silhouettes, the Benefit x PBteen Collection features chic home furnishings, bedding, décor, beauty and vanity accessories, as well as lively wall art.

Adyen, the payments platform of choice for the world’s leading companies, announced a partnership with the Cotton On Group, Australia’s largest global retailer. With this partnership in place, Adyen is helping to power ecommerce payments for the Cotton On Group brands including Cotton On, Cotton On Kids, Cotton On Body, Rubi, Supré, Factorie and Typo on a global scale.

ParTech, a leading global provider of point-of-sale (POS) and workforce efficiency solutions to the restaurant and retail industries, announced Charleys Philly Steaks has selected PAR’s cloud-based Brink POS Software for all 594 domestic locations. The deployment of the Brink solution to their network of restaurants is in progress and will be completed in 2019.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced the launch of a Boots flagship store on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s B2C platform for international brands and retailers, to introduce a number of iconic Boots beauty brands to more than half a billion consumers on Alibaba’s platforms in China.

Newly formed Inspire Brands announced it entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Sonic Corp. for $2.3 billion. Inspire Brands was formed in February following the closing of Arby’s Restaurant Group’s $2.9 billion purchase of 1,200-plus unit full-service chain Buffalo Wild Wings. The company’s current portfolio includes more than 4,700 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and fast-casual Rusty Taco locations.

SiriusXM is buying digital radio company Pandora for $3.5 billion. SiriusXM invested $480 million in Pandora just 15 months ago.

Salesforce, a go-to sales and marketing platform, will redesign its app on iOS to incorporate Apple's greatest hits, like Siri, Face ID and Business Chat.