Apparel

Richmond, Va. — Divaris Real Estate has announced the renewal of a 26,537-sq.-ft. Big Lots lease in the Midlothian Crossing Shopping Center in Richmond, Va.

DRE manages and leases the center for landlord Midlothian Associates. Other tenants include Goodwill, Family Dollar and Red Wing Shoes.

New York – Saks Inc. has settled lawsuits from investors related to its proposed buyout by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). According to Bloomberg, Saks has reached an agreement that reduces the termination fee it would pay HBC in the event the purchase does not happen and reduces the time Saks has to seek alternative offers

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Owners of garment factories in Bangladesh are reportedly prepared to raise the minimum wage they pay workers from 50%-80% and ask retailers to pay at least some of the extra cost.

According to Reuters, factory owners have offered a minimum wage of about $46 per month. Workers have requested a minimum wage of about $102 per month, and the government is expected to order an increase in a middle range of $54-$66 per month. Current minimum wage is about $39 a month.

Los Angeles – CharmingCharlie relaunches its e-commerce site today. Enhanced features on Charmingcharlie.com include: a new approach to '”Shop by Color,” product filtering, improved product descriptions and social sharing, among others.

Sequential Brands Group has entered into five new license agreements to expand the Caribbean Joe brand and has extended the terms of its agreements with three current partners. With five new partnerships, this brings the total list of Caribbean Joe licensees to 25.
 

New York – The Jones Group is reportedly approaching deals to sell its business to Sycamore Group and GIII Apparel Group.

Sycamore Group is an Indianapolis-based real estate firm and GIII is a New York-based apparel licensor and manufacturer. Women’s Wear Daily reports sources indicate Jones Group is close to reaching agreements with both companies.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue, in partnership with Stylewhile, has launched a new iPad App that allows users to fit clothing to their specific body type before purchase. Not only can users virtually 'try on' clothes, but they can also use the App to select various items from retailers to create and style complete looks with the touch of a button.

Saks Fifth Avenue is leveraging Stylewhile’s iPad App so the retailer can offer online shoppers the opportunity of fitting clothing to their specific body type before making a purchase.
 
Stylewhile is capable of aggregating product imagery from online stores and fitting them on a model of a number of body types. Users can not only virtually try on clothes, but also use the App to select various items from retailers to create complete ensembles.