Apparel

Dallas -- Zale Corp. on Thursday restated its support for Signet Jewelers Ltd.'s $1 billion acquisition offer, urging shareholders to support the deal despite opposition from a large investor. The deal, under which Zale stockholders would receive $21.00 per share in cash, has been unanimously approved by the Zale board of directors.

Zale’s investor TIG Advisors LLC has called the deal "grossly unfair," saying the jewelry retailers should be able to get $28.60 a share in cash and stock.  

By Evan Gold, VP of client services, Planalytics

The winter of 2014 brought record cold and snow throughout North America and its impact on business and consumer spending were widespread and significant. How impactful was it? Well, for the S&P 500 companies, the word “weather” was mentioned in almost 200 earnings calls from January through March, which is a 81% increase compared to last year.

Dallas — Redevelopment has begun at Victory Park in Dallas.

The initial phase of redevelopment, scheduled to finish up late this year, aims to improve the pedestrian experience and connect American Airlines Center/Victory Plaza and the southern area of Victory Park.

Arlington, Va. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), along with several retail brands, has launched the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC), the centerpiece of which is a Retail Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Retail-ISAC).

Melville, N.Y. - Global Facility Management & Construction is naming two new members of its management team. Bruce Wollmuth has been named construction manager, leading a team of construction project managers.

Dallas – DGSE Companies Inc. swung to a net loss of $523,000 from a net profit of $300,000 in first quarter 2014. The retailer cited significant decreases in both bullion and scrap sales resulting from a drop in gold prices as affecting its performance, which included a 32% drop in revenue to $19.9 million from $29.2 million.

DSGE has closed 23 stores since February 2014 and expects $3.7 million in non-recurring charges in 2014 as part of discontinued operations.

London – U.K. swimwear and resort retailer Orlebar Brown has deployed NetSuite OneWorld to support its growth and continued global expansion. The company is leveraging NetSuite OneWorld's capabilities for financial consolidation, tax compliance support, and multi-currency and multi-language support point-of-sale (POS), for its Notting Hill store in London, as well as inventory management, order management and warehouse management to run its core mission-critical business processes.

Kohl’s joins a growing list of retailers whose first-quarter results took a hit from a severe and extended winter. Despite missing estimates, the company is staying firm on its guidance for the full fiscal year.

Skechers USA has signed hall-of-fame quarterback legend Joe Namath to represent the high-performing men’s Relaxed Fit from Skechers footwear line. A new advertising campaign featuring Namath will begin in the fall.

“Broadway” Joe’s campaign launches with a new television commercial utilizing the same humorous tone set by spots for Relaxed Fit footwear featuring Joe Montana and Mark Cuban. The campaign will extend across all media with Namath appearing in print, outdoor, online and point-of-sale materials through 2015.

Golfer Blayne Barber will partner with C9 by Champion, Target’s exclusive line of activewear, while competing on the Web.com Tour this season. The 24-year-old Lake City, Fla., native joins a roster of 12 other athletes supported through Target’s athlete program, and is the first to represent the C9 by Champion brand.