Apparel

Millburn, N.J. – A 30-year-old man was fatally shot during a carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills, an upscale shopping center in Millburn, N.J. According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the man and his wife were entering their Range Rover on a parking deck at around 9 p.m., on Dec. 15, following an evening of holiday shopping at the mall when two men fired multiple shots.

Houston – Growth in the Houston retail estate market is expected to follow strong residential real estate growth in 2014. According to a report from NewQuest Properties delivered at the recent BoyarMiller Real Estate Forum, there are about 15 new shopping centers planned or under way in Houston.

In addition, the Houston retail sector is struggling to keep up with growth in the city and experiencing very low vacancy and default rates

Rakuten LinkShare announced double-digit year-over-year growth during Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, driven primarily by transactions conducted on mobile devices.

It promises to be a mad dash to the finish for the nation’s retailers this week with half of holiday shoppers planning to wrap up their holiday shopping online and nearly one third of shoppers yet to begin spending, according to the latest survey results from the National Retail Federation.

New York -- Restoration Hardware Holdings said that co-CEO Carlos Alberini is resigning, effective January 31, to become the chairman and chief executive of Lucky Brand Jeans. The move comes just days after Fifth & Pacific Cos. entered into an agreement to sell Lucky Brand to private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners.

Boston — Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies have completed phase one of the redevelopment of the Arsenal Mall in Watertown, Mass.The companies marked the occasion by announcing a new name for the mall: The Arsenal Project.

Completed enhancements to The Arsenal Project include a reconfigured interior layout with new seating, upgrades to the building’s exterior and landscaping. Oversized metal tree-planters now line Arsenal Street, the center’s entrance and other areas throughout the development.

Seattle – Nordstrom has closed a previously announced offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 5.00% Senior Notes due 2044. The proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used for general corporate purposes, including repayment or retirement of outstanding indebtedness due in 2014, financing of capital expenditures and working capital needs.

The notes were offered in a private placement, solely to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933.

J.C. Penny will eliminate the jcp menswear brand and reduce the assortments in its Joe Fresh, Michael Graves and Martha Stewart lines, Reuters reported.

All four brands were introduced by former CEO Ron Johnson. Penney plans to use the resulting space to emphasize its exclusive private-label brands.

Starting in January, Penney will shrink its Joe Fresh in-store shops and reduce the assortment, the report said, moving the shops away from the front entry to give a more prominent spot to the chain’s own a.n.a and jcp women's wear collections.

Charlotte, N.C. — A 75,000-sq.-ft. Belk will anchor the Juban Crossing lifestyle center in Livingston Parish, La., in the fall of 2014. Construction of the $7 million store will begin in February.

Washington, D.C. – Retail sales in November increased a better-than-expected 0.7% seasonally-adjusted month-to-month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. (The figure includes categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations, and restaurants.) Analysts were expecting sales to rise 0.6% in last month. The latest retail sales numbers were 4.7% above November 2012 numbers.