International Business

Timberland has made yet another executive appointment to support its growth strategies.   The company named footwear industry veteran Tracy Smith as VP and general manager of Timberland North America. In this role, he will lead the strategic vision and operations of Timberland’s wholesale and direct to consumer businesses in North America, with responsibility for strategy, merchandising, sales, marketing and operations.  

Hudson’s Bay Co. has brought in professional advice regarding its potential merger with Neiman Marcus.    The Canadian department store company has hired a debt restructuring adviser, investment bank Evercore Partners Inc., to review the potential acquisition and provide Hudson’s Bay Executives with ways on how it could proceed without Hudson’s Bay assuming Neiman Marcus’ full debt, according to a Reuters report on CNBC.com.     

Nine West Holdings is taking action to deal with its debt.  

Coach has acquired a brand with a strong following among millennials.   The luxury handbag company on Monday announced that it will acquire Kate Spade & Company for $18.50 per share in cash, which represents a premium of 9% to Kate Spade's closing price on Friday. The deal, which has a total transaction value of $2.4 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017 and add to adjusted earnings in fiscal 2018.  

AmazonFresh is expanding its breadth in one of its biggest markets outside the United States.   

Is Neiman Marcus about to be involved in a lawsuit as opposed to a merger?  

The retail environment in Canada is proving more challenging than some U.S. retailers had anticipated.     Express said it will close all 17 of its stores in Canada, and discontinue its Canadian operations through its Canadian subsidiary, Express Fashion Apparel Canada Inc. The retailer will continue to operate 635 stores in the United States.      

The United Kingdom is preparing for Amazon’s newest technology hub — a lab that will focus on innovations from artificial intelligence to machine learning.   The online giant plans to open a new 60,000 sq. ft. development center in Cambridge this fall. The facility will have the capacity to employ more than 400 associates, including machine learning scientists, knowledge engineers, data scientists, mathematical modelers, speech scientists and software engineers.  

An executive from Avery Dennison Corp. is headed to Nordstrom.    The retailer announced that Anne Bramman is joining the company as CFO effective June 2, 2017. Bramman comes to Nordstrom from Avery Dennison, where she has served as senior VP and CFO since 2015. She previously held the CFO position at Carnival Cruise Line, and was also CFO of Henri Bendel, a subsidiary of L Brands Inc.