Apparel

Columbus, Ohio -- Washington Prime Group announced Tuesday it will acquire shopping center REIT Glimcher Realty Trust in a deal worth $4.3 billion.

Washington Prime Group, a Bethesda, Maryland-based REIT, and Glimcher will combine under a new name WP Glimcher, with headquarters remaining in the current Glimcher offices in Columbus, Ohio.

The newly combined company will remain publicly traded.

The Men's Wearhouse board of directors has promoted Mary Beth Blake to the position of president and chief merchandising officer. She was previously EVP and chief merchandising officer, and will continue reporting to CEO Doug Ewert.

"Mary Beth has been an integral part of our management team since 2008 and has spent her entire career developing creative initiatives to drive sales, expand gross margins and build successful teams," said Ewert.

New York -- Omnichannel retailer Benchmark Brands has chosen intelligence provider, Upstream Commerce, to maximize Benchmark's price and assortment optimization.

"We chose Upstream Commerce for their experience with large high fashion and apparel retail companies in the US," said Christine Mueller, VP, Benchmark, which specializes in footwear and related products for baby boomers and seniors. "Upstream Commerce fits our goals of providing the best omnichannel shopping experience to our customers while driving profitable growth.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop announced the appointment of Voin Todorovic as the company’s new CFO, effective Sept. 15. He assumes CFO responsibilities at Build-A-Bear Workshop from Tina Klocke, who had been serving as both the company’s CFO and COO. Klocke is leaving to pursue her interests in the not-for-profit business sector. She will remain with the retailer through first quarter 2015 and will retain her position as COO during this time.

New York -- Sears Holdings Corp. said in regulatory filing that it would borrow $400 million from the hedge fund of its CEO, Edward Lampert, who is also the company’s largest shareholder.  

Sears received the first $200 million of the loan from Lampert's ESL Investments on Monday, and expects to receive the remaining amount on Sept. 30.

The company said it would use the money for “general corporate purposes.

Build-A-Bear Workshop has appointed Voin Todorovic as its new CFO, reporting to CEO Sharon John.

"Voin has a solid background in linking financial goals and business objectives. I am excited to have him join the team as we continue to evolve our business model to leverage the strength of the Build-A-Bear brand to drive toward the Company’s stated objectives of sustainable, profitable growth,” said John.

Northbrook, lll. -- StreetMac LLC and an affiliate of Five Mile Capital Partners LLC announced redevelopment plans for the 1.3 million-sq.-ft. Stratford Square Mall, located in Bloomingdale, Illinois. The center’s anchor tenants include Macy’s, Carson Pirie Scott, Sears, Kohl’s, Burlington Coat Factory and the 16- screen Century Theatre movie complex.

Fremont, Calif. -- Men's Wearhouse has named Mary Beth Blake as the company's president and chief merchandising officer, effective Sept. 10. She was previously executive VP and chief merchandising officer.

From 2013 to 2014, Blake was executive VP and chief merchandising officer and from 2008 to 2013 she was the president of K&G.

Before joining K&G, she was with Macy's Midwest Division as senior VP, general merchandise manager for men's and children's.