Apparel

Oak Brook, Ill. — Inland Real Estate Corporation has announced the acquisition of Mokena Marketplace in Mokena, Ill., an affluent suburb located within the Chicago metropolitan area for $13.7 million in cash.

After a strong start to the holiday season, harsh weather took a toll on Jos. A. Bank which reported solid profit growth and a 1.8% same store sales increase during what is likely to be one of the company’s final earnings reports as a public company.

Premium denim brand True Religion named former top executives from Levi Strauss & Co., and Gap inc., to its board of directors.

The purveyor of premium products said John Anderson and Marka Hansen agreed to serve on its board. Anderson spent 32 years at Levi Strauss & Co, ultimately serving as president and CEO while Hansen previously spent 24 years at Gap and most recently served as president of Gap North America.

Chicago -- Claire's Stores on Tuesday said its CEO, James D. Fielding, has resigned. He will be replaced by Beatrice Lafon, currently president of Claire’s Europe, effective April 2. The specialty retailer also posted a lower profit for the fourth quarter amid a drop in sales.

Fielding joined Claire's from The Walt Disney Co. in June 2012.

San Francisco -- Wells Fargo & Company and Dillard’s have entered into an agreement for Wells Fargo to fund, issue and service Dillard’s-branded private label and co-brand credit cards. Wells Fargo will also manage the cardholder loyalty program for Dillard’s.

The program agreement has a 10-year term and is anticipated to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2014, following the scheduled expiration of Dillard’s current program agreement. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Oakland, Calif. - The Society for Research of Synergies (SRS) and its company members will place their supply network onto the GT Nexus platform to optimize global transportation costs representing $247.7 million per year. SRS is a global synergy organization representing the interests of 20 European retailer groups, including Groupe Auchan, Groupe ADEO, Pimkie, Orsay, Kiabi, Happychic, H.T.M., Mobivia, Ephigea and Tapis Saint Maclou.

New York -- Macy’s and Maker Studios, the world’s largest producer and distributor of online video content for Millennials, announced a collaboration to launch an original fashion-lifestyle series, to be called “The Next Style Star.” The program will feature 16 up-and-coming stylists battling head-to-head for a $10,000 cash prize, a chance to serve as a guest stylist on an upcoming Macy’s photo shoot, and have his or her winning look featured in the Impulse Department at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City.

New York -- Online jewelry retailer BaubleBar on Monday opened 35 pop-up shops in select Nordstrom locations. The ‘Nordstrom Loves BaubleBar’ pop-up features new and exclusive items from brand, with the collection priced between $24 and $68.

At the recent Oracle Industry Connect Conference held in Boston, a number of speakers from prominent retailers including Kohl’s, Hot Topic, and C. Wonder extolled the virtues of “vanilla” implementations of enterprise systems. In this context, vanilla means implementing an enterprise platform with all or many of that vendor’s applications, minimizing customization or use of one-off “best of breed” solutions.

New York -- The second floor of Uniqlo’s Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan has been transformed in conjunction with the launch of the retailer’s SPRZ NY collection, done in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art. The renovated floor includes the addition of a full-service Starbucks (a first for Uniqlo).