Apparel

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. reported Thursday that net income for the fourth quarter plummeted 40% on higher costs and aggressive discounting during the holiday selling season.

Net income for the quarter ended Jan. 28 was $218 million, compared with $365 million a year earlier. Sales dipped to $4.28 billion in the quarter, from $4.36 billion, matching Wall Street estimates.

Phoenix -- Cole Real Estate Investments announced that it signed leases totaling nearly 640,000 sq. ft. at Cole-related retail properties during 2011.

Cole secured approximately 308,000 sq. ft. of new leases, along with 330,000 sq. ft. of renewals, bringing the occupancy rate for its portfolio of properties to 97.8%.

Gurnee, Ill. -- Indianapolis-based The Mills/Simon announced that Kitchen Collection will open at Gurnee Mills, the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in Illinois.

Kitchen Collection will open on March 16 and be located near Burlington Coat Factory, Rink Side Sports and Shoppers World.

Largo, Md. -- Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust announced that Capital Centre LLC, one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, signed a lease with TD Burger LLC, operating as Timothy Dean Burger, to occupy the 2,000-sq.-ft. space at The Boulevard at the Capital Centre in Largo, Md.

The restaurant plans to open in the winter of 2012.

Nashville, Tenn. -- X Team International announced that Nashville-based partner Baker Storey McDonald Properties has acquired two shopping centers located in Kentucky and Ohio.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. has named Jill Stanton to the newly-created role as creative advisor for Old Navy, and Liz Meltzer as senior VP of Gap International Merchandising.

Stanton will work with the Old Navy design and merchandising teams to provide a fresh perspective and insights to the brand. Her career spans more than 25 years in apparel retail, starting with global retailers Next and Marks and Spencer. She also has more than a decade of experience with Nike, ultimately serving as VP global apparel.

Hong Kong -- Asian-based apparel retailer Esprit reported Thursday a net profit of $71.6 million for the six months ended December, beating Wall Street estimates.

The retailer said it remains on track to close its directly managed stores in North America by end-March 2012 and will continue to look for a licensing partner.

Atlanta -- Rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s said Wednesday it has appointed interim CEO Ronald W. Allen as its permanent president and CEO.

Allen served as chairman and CEO of Delta Air Lines from 1987 to 1997, and has been a member of the Aaron's board since 1997.

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands reported Wednesday that fourth quarter profit dropped 21% to $359.4 million, from $452.3 million in the year-ago period.

The parent to Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and Henri Bendel was negatively impacted by a large restructuring charge for an asset write-down and closures of some of its La Senza lingerie stores. Last quarter’s profit decrease breaks a streak of four consecutive quarters of year-over-year profit increases.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Jan. 28 slid 5.2% to $981 million, from $1.04 billion in the prior year.

Revenue increased 3.3% to $20.94 billion, missing Wall Street’s expected $21.23 billion in revenue. Same-store sales rose 2.2%.

Heavy discounting during the holiday season cut into fourth-quarter profits, but Target still is forecasting a full-year profit outlook that beats analysts’ expectations.