Can We Trust the Borders Bump?

One chain that is on the watch list of many industry observers this year for mass store closings is Borders Group. It is second place to Barnes & Noble in a flailing retail sector with only two major national chains pressured by technology.

Plus, it consistently reports weak earnings, at least, until its fourth quarter results came out earlier this week. Borders earned just under $60 million, nearly doubling what it brought in during the same year-ago period, and its stock soared as a result.

Uh Oh…Gap’s Launching Another Chain

It looks like Gap Inc. is getting ready to roll out another chain. The company is testing stores for its female athletic brand Athleta in the San Francisco area.

Athleta, acquired in 2008, is currently online only. As part of Gap’s direct division, sales sales of the brand are increasing rapidly, and the concept sounds similar to Lululemon, a retailer that’s doing extremely well financially.