Apparel

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands announced that Charlie McGuigan, CEO of Mast Global, the company's sourcing and production arm, has been named Limited Brands COO. In addition to retaining his current responsibilities, he will assume leadership of enterprise operations.

Martyn Redgrave, Limited Brands chief administrative officer, will transition to the role of senior advisor for the company later this summer.
 

New York -- Macy's Inc., Target Corp., Kohl’s, Saks and Costco’s Wholesale Corp. all reported results that fell short of expectations in April. An early Easter, which helped fuel March results, high gas prices, cool weather and renewed worries about the economy contributed to the decline, according to many analysts.

New York -- Several apparel retailers, including Limited Brands, Zumiez and Ross Stores, posted better-than-expected sales in April. It was widely expected that an earlier Easter, which pushed demand into March, and cool weather would hurt sales.

Limited Brands, parent of Victoria’s Secret, reported a 7% rise in same-store sales for April, beating estimates.

Teen clothing retailer Zumiez also beat expectations with a 10.1% gain in April. The Buckle’s same-stores sales edged up 1% slightly higher than analysts' estimates.

ARMONK, N.Y. — Mobile commerce increased more than 13% in the first quarter of 2012, according to IBM's first retail economic indicator, a cloud-based analytics report, which examines the state of the online retail sector.

The increase in mobile commerce sales, along with improved consumer attitudes toward the digital buying experience, indicate that consumers will be shopping more with their smartphones and other mobile devices in the near future.

Other highlights of the report include:
 

SUFFERN, N.Y. — The Ascena Retail Group will acquire Charming Shoppes Inc., parent company of Lane Bryant, for about $890 million.

The move gives Ascena -- which owns the Dressbarn, Maurices and Justice chains -- entry to the steadily-growing large-size women's clothing market. In addition to Lane Bryant, Charming Shoppes also owns the Fashion Bug and Catherines Plus Sizes banners. It operates more than 1,800 stores nationwide. In 2011, nearly 85% of Charming Shoppes’ sales involved plus-sized apparel.

New York -- Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings, presented an ambitious plan on Wednesday to improve the company’s performance that includes updating store layouts and signage and investing in its rewards program, Reuters reported.

“We are not here to just survive. We are here to transform,” Lampert told shareholders at the company's annual meeting, according to the report.

Sears is focusing on better inventory management, having the right fashions and being more customer friendly, the report said.

Minneapolis -- Target said it will open its new smaller format concept, CityTarget, at the Beverly Connection in Los Angeles, in March 2013. The 99,000-sq.-ft. will be located on the second floor of the shopping complex, at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly Boulevard.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties and Horizon Group Properties announced that construction will begin immediately on a new outlet center in Woodstock, Ga. The 370,600-sq.-ft. initial phase of the center, to be named The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta, is scheduled to open in August 2013.

New York -- The retail industry is still assessing the impact of two major deals that occurred within 24 hours of each other. On Tuesday, May, 1, shoe manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide Inc. and equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital agreed to acquire footwear giant Collective Brands Inc., operator of Payless Shoe Source, in a deal valued at $2 billion, including assumption of debt. And on Wednesday, May 2, Ascena Retail Group said it will acquire Charming Shoppes Inc., parent company of Lane Bryant, for about $890 million.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Multichannel shopping retailer HSN Inc. reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended March 31 climbed 29% to $26.2 million, from $20.3 million in the year-ago period.

Results were boosted by robust sales from its Cornerstone unit, which includes banners such as Ballard Design, Frontgate and TravelSmith.

Revenue overall rose 5% to $747.3 million. Cornerstone saw an 11% sales rise to $205.4 million. HSN segment sales were up 3% to $541.9 million.