SEATTLE — January 2, 2018 — Fashion retailer Nordstrom Inc. will hire 250 employees for its first stand-alone Men’s Store in Manhattan, which will open on Broadway between West 57th and West 58th Streets in April 2018. The company will also open a New York City flagship store in 2019 at the base of Central Park Tower, an Extell Development Company Project. Sales and support positions will be posted on Wednesday, January 3 and interested applicants are invited to apply for jobs online at careers.nordstrom.com. The retailer also announced Cailin Caro, as store manager of the NYC Men’s Store, and company veteran Chris Wanlass, as vice president of its Manhattan full-line stores.

“This is an exciting and historic time to be a part of Nordstrom as we prepare to open our first full-line store in one of the best retail cities in the world,” said Caro. “We’re building an empowered team of people focused on service and providing customers with an elevated experience that reflects the best of what we have to offer.”

Sales positions are available in all areas, including men’s apparel, designer, furnishings, shoes and grooming. Hiring will also take place for various support positions in building services, housekeeping, loss prevention, as well as jobs in the store’s food offerings. Nordstrom offers employees a competitive benefits package including a retail discount, medical coverage, 401(k), commuter benefits (up to $100 a month towards transit elections) and paid parental leave. New hires will participate in extensive product-knowledge seminars, selling immersion and a day of shadowing at one of the neighboring full-line stores.

To promote the start of employee hiring, the retailer wrapped the exterior of its Men’s Store with larger-than-life ‘help wanted’ banners incorporating witty job descriptions like “Desperately Seeking Sock Svengali,” “Now Hiring: Sneaker Obsessives,” and “People People Wanted.” The recruiting campaign also includes digital and social media placements.

“Nordstrom is a great place to build your career, something I’ve been fortunate to have experienced firsthand over the course of my 25 years with the company,” said Wanlass. Adding that he and Caro are “committed to creating an environment that fosters career development and growth opportunities, not only within our Manhattan stores, but the company as a whole.”

Wanlass began his career in 1992 as a stockperson at Nordstrom Fashion Place in Salt Lake City, Utah. He relocated to Atlanta in 1997 to open the company’s first store in the southern U.S. at Perimeter Mall as a department manager. In 1999, Wanlass made the move to Seattle, where he worked as an assistant buyer and then buyer in the men’s division. Relocating again in 2003, he accepted a new challenge as the Assistant Store Manager of the Downtown San Francisco store. Over the past 10 years, Wanlass has been the store manager at Stonestown (San Francisco), The Westchester (White Plains, N.Y.), Arden Fair (Sacramento, Calif.), Bellevue Square (Bellevue, Wash.), and most recently Pacific Centre (Vancouver, B.C.).

Caro joined the company as a seasonal salesperson in Lingerie in 2006 at the Nordstrom Downtown Seattle flagship store, and then went on to hold various store and regional management positions in the Lingerie division in Oregon, California and Washington D.C. In 2012, she became store manager of the Nordstrom Rack Towson in Baltimore, and later served as the store manager at Nordstrom Rack Union Square. Most recently Caro was store manager of The Westchester full-line store in White Plains, N.Y.

Nordstrom has been recognized as an employer of choice by Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For (for 20 consecutive years); Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work for LBGT Equality (for 13 consecutive years); Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity 2017; and Business of Fashion’s The Best Companies to Work For in Fashion 2017.

Posted January 2, 2018

Source: Nordstrom

NEW YORK CITY — December 21, 2017 — Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean today announced that it will be exploring the applications of blockchain technology with LOOMIA, a technology company adding intelligence to everyday objects. The companies will explore how data from Loomia-enabled L.L. Bean apparel can assess the extended use and performance of the outdoor retailer’s products, and provide valuable insight on the use rate of products returned under L.L.Bean’s 100-percent satisfaction guarantee.

“Working with Loomia will enable L.L.Bean to continue it’s 106 year-old mission of utilizing the latest advancements and technologies to design durable, functionally innovative products that help to further folks’ enjoyment of the outdoors,” said Chad Leeder, L.L.Bean’s innovation specialist.

This partnership will first be tested with L.LBean’s outerwear products by incorporating Loomia Electronic Layer (LEL) into merchandise such as jackets and boots. The LEL — which is composed of a flexible circuitry — can heat, light, and sense, all while remaining washable, dryable, and discreet. L.L.Bean will research implementing Loomia’s circuitry to collect data from apparel including information around temperature, motion, and frequency of wear. Once this data is collected, consumers will be able to share it back with the brand for rewards via the Loomia TILE — a component that allows for the secure and anonymous transfer of data.

Other use cases include the incorporation of Loomia’s heating elements into L.L.Bean signature products, such as enabling them to warm hikers’ toes or provide an extra layer of warmth on the coldest winter days. These solutions will present some of the first tech-enabled products to conquer the rigid and bulky design typically seen with other heating and sensing applications that have restricted wearable tech from advancing.

Janett Liriano, CEO of Loomia said: “L.L.Bean exemplifies quality and focused innovation, centered on functionality and user experience. We are thrilled to be working with this legacy brand as we develop TILE. Loomia is committed to delivering meaningful experiences to both brands and buyers and look forward to advancing that cause with L.L.Bean.

Loomia’s groundbreaking technology centered on the human experience is building an economy where consumers and brands are aligned on making better products through analyzing consumer-generated data. These innovative data insights are secured through blockchain technology and are governed by the expressive consent of consumers to share their data in a mutually beneficial and seamless exchange.

Today Loomia also announces that Carole Kerner, former president of Donna Karan Collection with more than 25 years experience in the fashion industry, will be joining the team as an advisor. Kerner has previously held the positions of president of DKNY, and a senior executive within the companies of Abercrombie and Fitch, and J Crew.

“I am inspired and motivated to work with Loomia, a company that provides innovative technology that can not only lend unique properties to specific products, but that also carries data that can inform a brand,” said Kerner. “Through the years, I’ve seen fashion’s need for innovation firsthand. The integration of a seamless and sophisticated technology such as Loomia’s will help solve a multitude of pain points that have previously been a barrier to this innovation, such as having a deeper understanding of how garments are used once they leave the store, and then using those insights to actually offer consumers better products.”

Loomia’s technology has been integrated by clients such as Google, The North Face, Zac Posen, and Calvin Klein. Loomia is led by Founder and Technical Lead Madison Maxey and CEO Janett Liriano. Maxey, a Forbes 30 Under 30 and 2013 Thiel Fellow, and Liriano are joined by LOOMIA’s core team members and advisors including Sol Lederer, Blockchain director; Ezgi Ucar, director of Product Development; Marco Paúl, vice president of Operations and Supply Chain; and Paul Raffin, a former executive at J. Crew and The Frye Co.

Posted December 21, 2017

Source: LOOMIA