Apparel

New York -- RKF said WeNew York -- RKF said Wednesday it has arranged a 1,200-sq.-ft. lease with shoe retailer CHUCKiES at 1052 Lexington Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

This will become CHUCKiES’ third location in Manhattan, all on the Upper East Side. The new store will sit between 74th and 75th Streets along the western side of Lexington Avenue.
 
The new CHUCKiES will occupy 800 sq. ft. on ground floor of the building, as well as 400 sq. ft. of space in the basement.

New York -- Abercrombie & Fitch wants to turn the building that once housed the Beatles’ Apple Records into one of its namesake children’s stores, Bloomberg News reported.  

The building is where the famed singing group performed together for the last time, in 1969. The performance, which occurred on the roof, was filmed for the movie “Let It Be.” The Westminster borough council is due to vote on the proposal next week.

New York  -- For the third consecutive year,  Subway came out on top on BrandIndex’s annual ranking of the most buzzed about U.S. brands. The BrandIndex Buzz Rankings compares “Buzz” scores for nearly 1,100 brands across 41 categories  to reveal the brands with the most positive Buzz in 2012.  

Subway had a Buzz score of 40.3. Online giant  Amazon came in at number two for the second year in a row, with a score of  36.8  Lowe’s was fifth, with a score of 32.7.

New York City -- Saks Inc. announced Tuesday it will shutter its Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Dallas Galleria on June 15. The retailer has operated a store in Dallas since 1982, and the summer closing will leave some 120 associates with the choice of transfer or severance.

Simultaneous with the Saks departure announcement was news from department store chain Belk that it will fill the vacated Galleria space with a $20-million, 170,000-sq.-ft. flagship store that starts construction in July and is slated to open spring 2014. 

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Stride Rite has launched a new line of shoes specifically designed for baby's first months through the crawling and pulling up stages.

LOS ANGELES — Consumers expect to spend slightly more on Valentine's Day merchandise this year than last year, according to a report by market research firm IBISWorld.

The report forecasts spending of $134.08 per person, compared with last year's $133.99. Total revenue for the holiday is expected to grow by 3.2%, to $20.8 billion, despite incomes and consumer sentiments remaining below what they were before the recession.

New York -- Consumers expect to spend slightly more on Valentine's Day merchandise this year than last year, according to a report by market research firm IBISWorld.

The report forecasts spending of $134.08 per person, compared with last year's $133.99. Total revenue for the holiday is expected to grow by 3.2%, to $20.8 billion, despite incomes and consumer sentiments remaining below what they were before the recession.

New York -- Target announced that it is expanding ongoing remodeling efforts to its stores in the Detroit area. Along with a much greater emphasis on grocery and fresh foods, the new layout include reinventions in several other departments such as beauty, home, shoes and baby.

Target’s  remodeled stores will include approximately 10,000 sq. ft. dedicated to fresh food, including a curated assortment of fresh produce, fresh packaged meat and pre-packaged baked goods, in addition to dry and frozen offerings.