Apparel

New York - Gymboree Corp. said Monday it did not receive any offers that top Bain Capital's $1.8 billion bid for the company and so the buyout will proceed.

The allotted time for Gymboree to receive competing offers expired Friday.

"Despite a broad solicitation of potentially interested parties, the Company did not receive any alternative acquisition proposals during the 'go-shop' period," Gymboree said in a statement.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Nearly one in five Americans will shop on Black Friday, and more than half (61%) plan to spend $100 to $500, according to a new survey by The Nielsen Company.  Among the likely Black Friday winners are department stores, with 76% of consumers planing to shop the channel, and supercenters/mass merchandisers, where 55% will shop.

New York - Anne Fontaine has opened a store at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, Calif.  The 1,510 –sq.-ft. shop is based on the company’s New York flagship designed by architect Andree Putman.

The new store combines natural materials and textures that embody the essence of Fontaine’s love of modernity and nature.

"The concept behind the shop is simple; to experience a little bit of the French lifestyle," said designer Anne Fontaine

New York — Shoppers opened up their wallets in early November, providing retailers with some early holiday cheer. Spending on apparel, jewelry and luxury goods showed strong increases from the same time a year ago, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which includes transactions in all forms including cash.

Bentonville, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will match competitor prices beginning on Thanksgiving Day and running through the Black Friday weekend.

Customers can bring in competitors ads and Walmart will match the price of any identical price at the register. The offer does not apply to online purchases.

Wal-Mart is also offering 150 online-only specials on Thanksgiving Day as well as "Black Friday" specials on electronics, home and apparel items in stores throughout the rest of the weekend.

San Francisco — Gap has joined the growing ranks of retailers opening holiday pop-ups. The chain has teamed with the New York City hipster publication Cool Hunting to open a temporary store at Gap's 5th Avenue and 54th Street gallery space. It will be open through Jan. 2, 2011, and feature more than 100 products hand-selected by Cool Hunting's editors.

San Francisco -- Gap will open its first Italian flagship on  Saturday in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele shopping district of Milan.

The company said that it also plans to open an additional Gap store in Rome next year and a Banana Republic store adjacent to its Milan location "in the near future." The Milan Gap store spans three floors and 25,500 sq. ft. and will offer all Gap clothing collections.