International Business

The Westfield Group has agreed to purchase the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s remaining 50% interest in the World Trade Center’s retail square footage. The purchase price is US$800 million. Following the transaction, expected to close early next year, Westfield will own 100% of the retail space, which totals 365,000 sq. ft.

Kellwood Company, a leading apparel manufacturer and marketer owned by affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, has elevated Lynn Shanahan to the position of CEO of Kellwood Company, following the initial public offering of Vince, completed Nov. 27.

The Clarks Group, the company behind the Clarks and Bostonian brands that sells more than 50 million pairs of shoes annually, has named a new chairman.

The privately held United Kingdom-based company, which operates specialty footwear stores in the U.S. and worldwide, elevated Thomas O’Neill to the role of chairman from his position as a non-executive director on the board. He fills a position previously held by Peter Davies to lead the world’s number one non-athletic footwear brand with annual sales of roughly $2.4 billion and a presence in 100 markets.

New York — RKF has opened an office in Toronto and named Steven Alikakos president, Canada. RKF’s Canadian expansion comes just weeks after the firm formalized an affiliation with the U.K.-based retail consulting firm CWM Retail Property Advisors.

A growing number of American retailers have launched stores north of the border in recent years, a trend expected to continue. Likewise, the U.S. has seen a wave of expansions from Canadian retailers. RKF hopes to play a role in sustaining and accelerating cross-border retail migration.

Newell Rubbermaid has named Paula S. Larson as EVP and chief human resources officer, effective Dec. 16. She succeeds James M. Sweet, who is retiring after nearly a decade of leading the company’s transformation efforts.

A strong increase in shopper traffic at Costco during November translated to a 3% increase in same-store sales, excluding gas, at U.S. locations during the four-week November reporting period which ended December 1.

Costco didn’t comment specifically on Thanksgiving weekend sales during a recorded call to recap results, but the company did say that traffic increased a little more than 4% while average transaction sizes were down slightly. Costco and its direct competitors Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club were closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp's November same-store sales missed analysts' expectations, hurt by lower gasoline prices and weak foreign currencies.

Same-store sales were up 2% in the four weeks ended Dec. 1, including the impact of fuel sales and foreign exchange, short of the 3% gain analysts expected.

November net sales rose 5% to $8.78 billion.

Excluding the negative impact of foreign exchange and falling gasoline prices, same-store sales rose 4%.

Stuart Weitzman Holdings has named François Kress as the company’s global president.

In this newly created position, Kress will oversee all aspects of the global retail and wholesale business plus take on the role of strategic leader for new initiatives and brand extensions. He will report directly to Wayne Kulkin, CEO, and will be based out of international headquarters in New York City.