Apparel

WASHINGTON — While the calendar shift of Easter may have taken a toll on retailers' march performance, April sales should see a boost, as the National Retail Federation noted that consumers intend to spend more this year than in 2010.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Friday that it increased the borrowing amount on its domestic revolving credit facility to $3.275 billion from $2.441 billion.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the maturity date is also extended from June 12, 2012 out to April 7, 2016. The facility also has a lower interest rates and the fee the lender charges Sears for holding available credit was reduced.

New York City -- Tiffany & Co. CEO Michael Kowalski received a pay package worth nearly $7.1 million for 2010, a 13% increase over 2009, according to a report by the Associated Press.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday showed that Michael J. Kowalski, 59, received a base salary of $958,957 and a performance-based bonus of nearly $1.6 million.
 
The bulk of his award came in the form of stock and option grants worth $4.4 million when they were granted.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. and WESTBOROUGH, Mass. -- The shifting of Easter to April this year impacted the warehouse club sector last month, as both Costco and BJ’s reported March comps that were negatively impacted by the calendar change. Without the benefit of Easter sales, both companies still managed to turn out respectable comps.

NEW YORK -- Uniqlo, a subsidiary brand of Japan-based Fast Retailing Co., announced that it will open its third New York City location at 31 West 34th Street this fall. The 34th Street store is set to open late in the fall of 2011, following the opening of the company's largest flagshop store on Fifth Avenue in early fall. Uniqlo operates a store in NYC's trendy SoHo neighborhood.

In conjunction with the news of its NYC expansion, Uniqlo announced plans to hire 1,000 retail associates and 100 supervisors from the local tri-state area.

NEW YORK -- Showing that luxury is experiencing measurable bounce in the recovering economy, the higher-end department stores led the same-store sales pack in March.

Saks outperformed the rest of the category, recording an 11.1% same-store sales increase during the month. Total sales rose 9.2% to $260.2 million, compared with $238.2 million in the year-ago period.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. -- Meijer is now selling an exclusive line of aprons for the kitchen and garden. The line was created by Crypton, a manufacturer of eco-friendly fabrics, in partnership with television host and author, Katie Brown.

The "Katie Brown Simply at Meijer" line is available at all Meijer's stores and at meijer.com.

New York City -- Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo said Thursday it will open its third New York City location.

The new store, on 34th Street, set to open this fall, following the opening of the chain’s largest flagship location on Fifth Avenue earlier in the fall. Both stores will join the current Uniqlo location in Manhattan’s Soho district.
 

San Francisco -- Gap has entered into a new $500 million revolving credit facility with a syndicate of banks led by BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup Global Markets. The new financing matures in 2016 and replaces the company’s existing $500 million revolving credit facility. As part of the same financing agreement, the company also entered into a $400 million five-year term loan.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch found that spending on food, gifts and apparel is expected to increase this Easter.

According to NRF’s 2011 Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, the average consumer is expected to spend $131.04 on everything from candy to clothes -- up from last year’s $118.60, but still not quite meeting pre-recession spending levels.

Total spending on Easter-related merchandise is expected to reach $14.6 billion.