Accessories

Hampstead, Md. – Five major investors in Jos. A. Bank — who combined own 17% of the menswear retailer — have told the company’s board they support dialogue with rival menswear retailer Men’s Wearhouse about its proposed $1.6 billion buyout offer, Bloomberg reports. Jos. A. Bank rejected the offer, which is good until March 28, on Jan. 15, and Men’s Wearhouse has publicly called for Jos. A. Bank to reconsider and said it may raise the offer.

New York -- Chico's FAS will launch its namesake brand in Mexico, through an exclusive franchise with El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C. V. ("Liverpool"), starting with a stand-alone boutique at Perisur Mall, Mexico City, in spring 2014.

Plans for the Chico's expansion in Mexico include the opening of stand-alone stores as well as branded shop-in-shops in Liverpool department stores. The second stand-alone boutique will open in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- The Gymboree Corporation has selected Oracle Commerce to support its full range of international e-commerce sites for its Gymboree, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands.

In addition to Oracle Commerce, Gymboree also intends to implement Oracle WebLogic Suite.

New York -- David Yurman, a fine jewelry and timepiece designer, has opened a store at Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park, Calif.

Conceptualized by architectural firm of Gabellini Sheppard Associates, the flowing 1,403-sq.-ft. store features classically modern architecture. Every element of the interior reflects the brand's luxurious yet relaxed aesthetic.

Jacksonville, Fla. – Stein Mart, Inc. has named Burton M. Tansky to the company's board of directors. Tansky was with The Neiman Marcus Group for 23 years, retiring as president and CEO in 2010.

Snellville, Ga. — Sprouts Farmers Market has signed a lease to occupy 26,000 sq. ft. in The Shoppes at Webb Gin in Snellville, Ga., an affluent suburb of Atlanta. This will be among the first Sprouts locations east of the Mississippi. Construction has begun on the store, which is slated to open this summer.

New York — O’Connor Capital Partners has acquired 150 and 151 Worth Avenue, a 142,000-sq.-ft. luxury shopping center in Palm Beach, Fla. O’Connor made the acquisition on behalf of an institutional client.

The Goodman Company developed the center from 1978 to 2001. Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus anchor the center, which is also home to Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch and Pucci as well as several other national and local tenants.

Seattle — Nordstrom plans to open a 35,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom Rack at The Greene Town Center in Dayton, Ohio, in the fall of 2014. Olshan Properties, formerly known as MPI, Mall Properties, Inc., manages The Greene Town Center.

Nordstrom Rack has four other locations in Ohio, two of which opened this past fall in Columbus and Westlake. Another Rack location is set to open at Sun Center in Columbus this spring. Nordstrom operates three full-line stores in Ohio.

Secaucus, N.J. – The Children’s Place Retail Stores has expanded its existing franchise agreement with Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC covering retail stores in Saudi Arabia, to include opening a total of approximately 25 stores in Egypt and the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S. Region) of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan, beginning in mid-2014.

New York — Alfred Marshall, who founded the Marshalls chain in the mid-1950s with the motto “Brand Names for Less,” died on Saturaday in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 94.

In 1976, Marshall and his partners sold the company, which consisted of 36 stores in New England and California, to the Melville Corporation. IN 1995, TJX bought Marshalls, by which time it had grown to nearly 500 locations.