Newport Beach

With product names such as "All Nighter," "Full Frontal," "Naked" and "Perversion," Urban Decay has been promoting its notion of "beauty with an edge" for almost 20 years. Launched in 1996, the cosmetics line offered an alternative to premium makeup's sweet standards of pink, red and beige. Urban Decay's colors — and the brand's overall attitude — were inspired by cityscapes and an electric underground vibe. So it may come as something of a surprise that Urban Decay's first brick-and-mortar store is set to open Monday at an upscale shopping mall overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, Calif.

For retailers, the mobile-wielding millennial shopper can be viewed with worry and despair, or as an opportunity to improve in-store engagement and conversions through mobile merchandising. Activating a mobile merchandising strategy to connect with smartphone-equipped shoppers can actually encourage them to interact within your retail environment via their smartphones. Enabling mobile consumers is a lot more productive in driving in-store conversions than ignoring this shift in consumer behavior. Here are three insights for retailers to improve in-store conversions using mobile merchandising:

GoldMax USA plans to open 100 new stores in the U.S. in 2012, including five to 10 stores in Minnesota and 30 stores in the Dallas metro area. The chain already opened its first two stores in Texas, at 3601 S. Cooper St. in Arlington and at 2193 E. Buckingham Rd. in Richardson, as well as its first store in Minnesota in Roseville. Later in the year, it plans to open a location at the Mall of America in Bloomington. “People of all ages and economic backgrounds are rummaging through their jewelry boxes, closets and drawers, attics or basements

Ella Moss, a division of Greensboro, N.C.-based branded apparel company VF Corp., opened its first-ever, bricks-and-mortar store at the Fashion Island shopping mall in Newport Beach, Calif., on Sept. 9, according to www.wwd.com. The 1,400-sq.-ft. store is the first of what is expected to be a dozen over the next five years, according to Jonathan Saven, president of Ella Moss and Splendid. "The brand has been around for 10 years, and it has been growing for 10 years," Saven said. "We felt like our entrance into retail as a business was a natural move." Standout store design elements include

vineyard vines will open its newest retail stores in Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia and New Jersey. With these additions, vineyard vines will now have 20 retail locations across the country, including the previously announced Fashion Island store in Newport Beach, Calif.

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