Apparel

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch reported weak net and comparable store sales and laid out plans to restructure its Gilly Hicks brand as part of a strategic review in advance of releasing its full results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

Lover.ly, a wedding inspiration and shopping site, has appointed founder of Nordstrom.com Bob Schwartz as the company’s first chairman.

As chairman, Schwartz will work closely with founder and CEO Kellee Khalil and the Lover.ly executive team to help shape the company’s long-term strategic growth, business and partnership development, capital strategy and build out Lover.ly’s brand and product pipelines.

New York – Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity was strong in the retail and consumer industry during the third quarter of 2013. Data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that transaction values on M&A deals in the retail/consumer sector rose 112% compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

Nike has promoted Scott LeClair, currently the brand’s VP and GM of Nike Skate and Nike Snow, to the position of VP of action sports. He will be responsible for leading the category as well as for Hurley International.

He replaces Nike veteran Roger Wyett, who has decided to retire according to the company.

Grand Rapids, Mich. - Meijer will open a supercenter in Danville, Ill., on Nov. 7, marking its final of six new stores the retailer has opened this year in the Midwest. The 190,000-sq.-ft. store has created 300 new jobs and provides local residents a 24-hour shopping option.

New York -- Winick Realty Group has welcomed the broker team of Alison Cohen and Susan Preisler to its New Jersey branch, in Cranford. Cohen and Preisler have been partners for more than a decade, starting up a retail division at Hirschman Realty before moving to Vanguard Realty.

As a team, they specialize in leasing regional shopping centers, a specialty they plan to continue as part of Winick, working with both landlords and tenants.

Paramus, N.J. – A lone gunman who entered the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., with an assault rifle the evening of Nov. 4 and went on an hours-long shooting rampage has reportedly been found dead of what appears to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the body of 20-year-old Richard Shoop of Teaneck, N.J., was found by authorities at 3:20 a.m. on Nov. 5 in an area of the mall usually not accessible to customers.