Financial/Banking

New York -- American Apparel Inc. has reached an agreement with its largest shareholders that will bolster its financial situation, remake its board, and keep the retailer’s manufacturing in the United States.

Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania — Wolfson Group will launch a redevelopment of Hilltown Crossings, a community shopping center with a gross leasable area of 354,458 sq. ft., located on Route 309 at Orvilla Road in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.

Barnegat, N.J. — Two long-term lease agreements totaling 6,600 sq. ft. bring retail occupancy to 100% at Bayshore Plaza in Barnegat, New Jersey, according to the 59,000-sq.-ft. property’s leasing and managing firm Levin Management. 

The new tenants include casual Italian restaurant Luigi’s Ristorante and Brick Oven Pizza (2,400 sq. ft.) and non-profit green initiative Greensleeves Boutique (4,200 sq. ft.).

New York -- The American Apparel saga continues, with the beleaguered chain receiving a notice of default from its longtime lender, Lion Capital.
   
The default notice was based on the claim that founder Dov Charney ceased to be CEO of the company, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. (Lion had a stipulation in its loan agreement, which was signed last year, stating that if Charney left the company, it would be in default.)
  


New York -- Crumbs Bake Shops on Monday closed its 48 stores. The cupcake store chain has been struggling for some time. In a May filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it warned that it "may be forced to curtail or cease its activities" if its operations didn't generate enough cash flow.

Last week, Nasdaq suspended the trading of Crumbs shares on the grounds that the company no longer had at least $2.5 million in shareholder equity, or met benchmarks for an annual net profit.

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Secret Service has reportedly arrested a Russian national for hacking into consumer credit card data between February 2009 and October 2011. According to Fox Business News, Roman Valerevich Seleznev, 45, was arrested July 5 for hacking into the networks of unspecified U.S. companies.

San Jose, Calif. – RetailNext Inc., a provider of Big Data analysis solutions for physical retail, has completed $30 million in growth financing. The company drew strategic investments from Qualcomm Inc. through its venture investment group Qualcomm Ventures, Tyco and American Express.

Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) led the round which included new investor Activant Capital Group and existing shareholders August Capital, StarVest Partners and Commerce Ventures. The financing brings the total capital raised by RetailNext to $59 million.

There have been more than a few headline-grabbing leadership transitions in the retail world recently. And, to be honest, “transitions” might be too gentle of a euphemism: some big names from some big-name brands have left, been fired, forced out, voted off the board, or otherwise pressured to step down in the last few months.