International Business

Leading beauty products manufacturer Elizabeth Arden is the latest company to cite an intensely promotional marketplace as the reason for worse-than-expected holiday season sales and profits.

The company said sales for its second quarter ended Dec. 31, would be in the range of $414 to $418 million and earnings per share would be between $1.13 and $1.16, substantially below sales of $468 million and earnings of $1.47 during the same period the prior year.

Armonk, N.Y. – IBM plans to commit more than $1.2 billion to significantly expand its global cloud footprint. This investment includes a network of data centers designed to bring clients greater flexibility, transparency and control of how they manage their data, run their businesses and deploy their IT operations in the cloud.

Estée Lauder has named Jane Lauder as global brand president of Clinique. Succeeding Lauder will be Stephane de la Faverie, who has been named SVP/global general manager, Origins, Ojon and Darphin. Their new roles will become effective April 1.

Both Lauder and de la Faverie will report to Lynne Greene, group president of Clinique, Origins, Ojon, Aveda and Darphin. As announced in 2012, Greene was promoted to group president as part of an organizational redesign.

Conshohocken, Pa. — CBRE and FAMECO joined forces in 2013. Together, the new entity’s all-retail service lines include retailer representation, owner representation, property management and investment sales.

CBRE | FAMECO combines the power of CBRE’s global platform with the specialized retail expertise of FAMECO to create a one-stop source for retail occupiers, owners and developers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

Los Angeles – American Apparel has opened a newly remodeled and expanded store in Berlin, Germany. Located in Mitte, the central borough of Berlin, the store was originally opened in February 2007 as American Apparel's third location in the city.

Tejon Ranch, Calif. — Swedish fashion retailer H&M has taken a 22,000-sq.-ft. space in the Outlets at Tejon, which is under construction along Interstate 5 in a trade area stretching from Northwest Los Angeles County to Bakersfield.

Established in 1947 in Sweden, H&M has 3,000 stores in 53 countries around the world.

Tejon Ranch Co. and The Rockefeller Group are developing the 320,000-sq.-ft outlet center.

Houston — Fuddruckers has opened its first Dominican Republic restaurant in Santo Domingo through a partnership with franchisee Eduardo J. Gadala-Maria and Giancarlo Bonarelli.

The 3,500-sq.-ft. unit opened in Galeria 360, one of several new shopping malls in the city. Galeria 360 features 120 stores and restaurants plus a large movie theater.

Office Depot has appointed Michael A. Steele as VP of investor relations. Steele, who most recently served as VP of investor relations for OfficeMax, where he had been employed since July 2007, will report to Stephen E. Hare, EVP and CFO.

Steele will develop and execute Office Depot’s investor relations strategy, serving as the primary interface for management with the financial community. He plans to relocate to the Office Depot corporate headquarters in Boca Raton.