Apparel

New York -- Fifth & Pacific Cos., formerly known as Liz Claiborne, said that its Kate Spade LLC brand is buying out the interest of its partner in a joint venture based in Japan, the Associated Press reported.

Kate Spade will have full ownership of Kate Spade Japan Co. after it buys Sanei International Co.'s 51%  stake in the business. Fifth & Pacific said the deal is expected to cost $45 million to $50 million, including debt repayment and transaction fees.

New York -- Lord & Taylor has entered into an exclusive partnership with Lifetime’s Project Runway for the television shows’ tenth anniversary season.

The partnership includes an exclusive retail sponsorship for the season and a comprehensive integrated marketing program.

By Dr. Gary Edwards, Empathica

Recently, online fashion retailer Piperlime announced plans to open its first brick-and-mortar location in New York City. For many, the announcement seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom given the competitive pricing and other advantages e-commerce providers have over traditional retailers.

Why would a successful e-tailer like Piperlime want to take on the additional cost and headaches associated with a physical store?

NEW YORK — The popular British fashion brand Topshop, which has flagship stores in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas, is making its mass retail debut in the United States at Nordstrom this fall.

Beginning Sept. 10, 14 Nordstrom stores will carry an assortment of Topshop and Topman merchandiese. Items will also be available online, making it the only large U.S. retailer to do so.

New York -- Marvin S. Traub, Bloomingdale’s president and CEO for 22 years, died Wednesday at age 87. Traub had suffered from bladder cancer.

Traub is credited with turning the Bloomingdale’s Manhattan flagship – at Lexington and 59th – into a showcase. He started as a merchandising manager in 1962, and was named president in 1969.

Minneapolis -- Target on Thursday confirmed the list of the stores that it intends to open across Canada in 2013.

As previously reported, Target purchased the leasehold interests of 189 sites currently operated by Zellers, and is slated to open 125 to 135 stores in Canada, the majority of which will open in 2013.

The latest announcement confirms the first 125 stores that will open in 2013, and later this year, Target will confirm additional store locations that will open starting in early 2014 and beyond.

New York -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is further lowering its credit rating on J.C. Penney Co., attributing the move to a continuing weak performance.

J.C. Penney’s corporate credit rating has been lowered to "B+" from "BB-." The junk rating is four notches below investment grade. The move marks the second downgrade from S&P since mid-May.
 

Minneapolis -- Christopher & Banks Corp. said Thursday it has entered into a new $50 million senior secured revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance.

The new facility provides committed revolving funding through July 2017, and replaces the company’s $50 million credit facility that was scheduled to mature on June 30, 2014.