Apparel

Toronto -- Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) has entered into two blockbuster deals, forming joint ventures with Simon Property Group and Canada’s RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust to target real estate growth opportunities in the United States and Canada. Both ventures are structured to facilitate an IPO at a later date.

The partnerships, which combined are valued at about $3.4 billion at the current exchange, are the latest example of retail companies moving to leverage their valuable real estate assets.

New York - Coach Inc. is the latest retailer to take a cloudy outlook on e-commerce. The luxury chain has re-platformed its flagship site on the Demandware Commerce Cloud.

It’s no wonder Macy’s is looking to allocate part of its $1 billion capital expenditure budget into opening off-price stores when you look at the financial results TJX Co. reported for the fourth quarter.

The company reported an 11% increase in profit for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Net sales for the fourth quarter were $8.3 billion, a 6% increase over last year. Same store sales increased 4% over last year’s 3% increase. Net income was $648 million and diluted earnings per share were $.93, a 15% increase over last year’s $.81 per share.

Framingham, Mass. -- The TJX Cos. on Wednesday reported an 11% rise in fourth quarter profit and said it would raise employee pay above the minimum wage.  It also announced plans to expand into two more global markets.

On a more downbeat note, the off-price giant said it expected a strong dollar to reduce its profit by 5% and the new wage hikes to lower earnings by 4% the year ending Jan. 30, 2016.

New York - L.L. Bean provided the best overall customer service in the fiscal fourth quarter 2014, topping the first quarterly release of Stella Benchmarks. Companies included are part of StellaService’s daily customer care evaluations and weekly product orders.

Two companies – J.Crew and L.L. Bean – managed to rank in the Top 25 overall every month in 2014. So, it comes as no surprise that those two retailers are at the top of the most recent benchmarks.

Cincinnati -- Macy's fourth quarter net income fell to $793 million from $811 million a year earlier, topping analysts expectations. However, the retailer issued a disappointing profit outlook for the current year, and sounded a warning for the current quarter, saying sales and margins would be impacted by shipping delays related to the West Coast ports dispute.

Toronto – Sears Canada Inc. swung from profit to loss in a dismal fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The retailer reported a net loss of $123.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net income of $373.7 million in the same period a year earlier.

The net loss included a pre-tax asset impairment charge of $99.3 million related to leasehold improvements in full-line and Hometown stores, and intangible assets. In addition, the net income a year earlier included several one-time tax gains, real estate sales and legal settlements.

Charleston, S.C. - The Running Buddy, a vertical retailer of specialty lifestyle products, have introduced a Brand Ambassador program. Running Buddy Brand Ambassadors are invited and encouraged to share their thoughts and collaborate with other ambassadors in a variety of ways including: social media outreach and engagement, sharing audio or video clips, outreach to potential Running Buddy retailers, writing informative blog posts or articles, sharing photos from marathons and other activities, and more.