Apparel

Sandpoint, Idaho -- Coldwater Creek Inc. on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to close its stores and wind down operations by early summer.

Because the Easter holiday is in April this year rather than in March as it was last year, Gap already expected March to be a challenging month performance-wise.  

The retailer reported net sales of $1.5 billion for the five-week period ended April 5. Comparable sales for March were down 6% versus a 1 % decrease last year.

“While March performance has been challenging, we remain confident in the opportunities ahead,” said chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy. “We are pleased to reaffirm our full-year EPS guidance range.”

New York – Ann Inc. has signed a long-term renewal agreement with Alliance Data Systems Corp. to continue providing private label and co-branded credit card services. Alliance Data will continue to deliver marketing-driven private label and co-branded credit card programs that recognize and reward Ann Taylor and Loft card members.

Ann Taylor and Loft brands are marketed in approximately 1,025 stores across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico through its Ann Taylor, Loft, Ann Taylor Factory and Loft Outlet stores, as well as globally online.

Redlands, Calif. — Majestic Realty Co. has announced that construction has begun on the Mountain Grove at Citrus Plaza shopping center. Located adjacent to Citrus Plaza in the Inland Empire at the intersection of the I-210 and I-10 freeways, Mountain Grove plans to open in summer 2015.

The 468,000-sq.-ft Phase I development is the sibling project to Citrus Plaza. It will add another 670,000-sq. ft. of retail, dining and entertainment.

J&R Music and Computer World may not be a retailer with which many are familiar, but it’s been a longtime institution in Lower Manhattan. After 43 years of business, owners Joe and Rachelle Friedman this week issued pink slips to all of the retailer’s employees and closed the doors of the block-long technology and music superstore.

Philadelphia – Destination Maternity Corp. reported declining net and same-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier. Net sales decreased 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, while same-store sales dropped 5.1%.

Destination Maternity said the decline in net sales resulted primarily from the decrease in comparable sales and decreased sales related to the company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores.

Stein Mart said that its March sales were unfavorably impacted by the shift of pre-Easter selling from March to April this year, as well as cooler-than-normal temperatures in many parts of the country early in the month.

Stein Mart’s total sales for the five-week period ended April 5 were $136.3 million, compared to total sales of $135.4 million for the prior-year period. Comparable store sales increased 0.9%.

Fremont, Calif. -- In accordance with the terms of its merger agreement with Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., The Men’s Wearhouse has extended its all-cash tender offer for $65 per share for all of the currently outstanding shares of common stock (including associated stock purchase rights) of Jos. A. Bank to April 23, unless further extended.