Casual

Fifth & Pacific plans to sell its Lucky Brand Jeans division to an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners for $225 million so it can focus on its fast-growing Kate Spade brand.

"We believe that by focusing all of our resources on the huge opportunity at Kate Spade, we can deliver the strongest value creation opportunity for our shareholders,” said William L. McComb, CEO of Fifth & Pacific (formerly known as Liz Claiborne). “This is all about bringing Kate Spade to its full potential.”

Michael Jeffries is still CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch. The company has renewed Jeffries’ employment agreement for a second time, with this latest restructured agreement taking effect Feb. 1, 2014, when Jeffries' current agreement expires.

Boulder, Colo. -- Nordstrom is North America’s overall favorite fashion retailer for the second consecutive time, according to a new study of more than 6,800 consumers conducted by Market Force Information (Market Force), a provider of customer intelligence solutions.

Kohl’s is the most visited for casual clothing, business attire and children’s clothing, while Dick’s Sporting Goods won out for sports apparel and DSW for footwear.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. — Mid-America Asset Management Inc. has announced six retail leases in four Chicago shopping centers.

New York -- Aeropostale reported a loss of $25.6 million for its fiscal third quarter, compared to a profit of $25 million in the same period last year.

Sales dropped 15% to $514.6 million, from $605.9 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales also decreased 15%.

New York -- New York & Co. reported a loss of $3.4 million for the quarter ended Nov. 2, compared with a loss of $3.8 million in the same period last year.

Sales fell to $217.6 million, from $219.3 million, and same-store sales increased 3%.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- Wet Seal recorded a loss of $14.9 million for the fiscal 2013 third quarter, essentially flat with last year.

Sales dipped to $127.7 million from $135.5 million, and same-store edged up 0.8%, including an increase of 1.7% at Wet Seal and a decrease of 6.7% at Arden B.

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo USA division named a new CEO with a familiar name to lead what is expected to be an accelerated growth plan.

Uniqlo elevated existing COO Lawrence Meyer to the role of CEO to lead is 17 unit U.S. operation roughly one year after he joined the company. In his new role, Meyer will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Uniqlo brand and be responsible for the ongoing development of the company retail footprint in the U.S.

New York -- Investor Engaged Capital LLC has urged Abercrombie & Fitch to start a search for a new chief executive officer and consider selling the company, Bloomberg reported. The company owns less than 1% of the retailer’s shares outstanding.

Newport Beach, Calif. -- Engaged Capital, an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and beneficial owner of approximately 400,000 shares of the common stock of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sent a letter to the company’s board of directors on Dec. 3. In its letter, Engaged Capital highlighted the upcoming expiration of Abercrombie chairman and CEO Michael Jeffries’ employment contract on February 1, 2014 as an opportunity for the board to set a new direction for the company.