Apparel

Oak Brook, Ill. — Retail Properties of America, Inc. (RPAI) has closed on the acquisition of Woodinville Plaza located in the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The property was acquired on an unencumbered basis for a gross purchase price of $35.3 million.   

EVANSVILLE, Indiana — Shoe Carnival plans to launch a complementary, small-market store concept. The new format will be approximately 5,000 sq.ft. or half the size of a current Shoe Carnival store.  

The Men's Wearhouse reported a dapper first quarter on the same day the company inked a 10-year deal with Macy's to sell tuxedoes.

The retailer posted net income for the first quarter ended May 2 of $10.4 million or $0.21 per share, compared to $16.5 million or $0.34 per share for the year-ago quarter. Net sales for the first quarter rose 40.4% to $885.09 million from $630.47 million in the same quarter last year. 

New York — Chip Wilson, the controversial founder of Lululemon Athletic Inc., may well be on the verge of selling his stake in the company, according to numerous reports.    Lululemon, based in Vancouver,  British Columbia, filed a 20.1 million share offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing Wilson and his wife to exit their roughly 14% stake. The couple's stake in the company was worth about $1.34 billion, Reuters reported.  

Toronto, Canada – Hudson’s Bay Co. Inc. (HBC) swung a net loss of $54 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from net earnings of $176 million in the year-ago period amid higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses even as as sales showed strong improvement.  

Troubled specialty retailer J.Crew Group Inc. says it has laid off 175 staff members and fired its chief women’s designer.

The company says the changes and business improvement initiatives will "better align with the current and future retail environment."

New York — The formerly high-flying J.Crew Group has come down to earth, a victim of fashion miscues and the new competitive landscape. What’s more, the retailer has $1.5 billion in debt on its books, the New York Times reported. Click here for the story.

Irving, Texas – The Michaels Companies Inc. is teaming up with The Gymboree Corp, on a summer Instagram promotion. Customers who share on Instagram how their family is crafting in style using the hashtag #CraftingInStyleSweeps and follow both Michales and Gymboree on Instagram will be entered to win a $100 gift card to both retailers.

Three winners will be chosen at random each week.