Apparel

New York -- The retail industry is still assessing the impact of two major deals that occurred within 24 hours of each other. On Tuesday, May, 1, shoe manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide Inc. and equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital agreed to acquire footwear giant Collective Brands Inc., operator of Payless Shoe Source, in a deal valued at $2 billion, including assumption of debt. And on Wednesday, May 2, Ascena Retail Group said it will acquire Charming Shoppes Inc., parent company of Lane Bryant, for about $890 million.

New York -- Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings, presented an ambitious plan on Wednesday to improve the company’s performance that includes updating store layouts and signage and investing in its rewards program, Reuters reported.

“We are not here to just survive. We are here to transform,” Lampert told shareholders at the company's annual meeting, according to the report.

Sears is focusing on better inventory management, having the right fashions and being more customer friendly, the report said.

St. Charles, Mo. -- Peoria, Ill.-based Cullinan Properties announced that The Art Institute of St. Louis has signed a lease and will be opening a school at the new Streets of St. Charles mixed-use development, with classes scheduled to begin in July.

The development, located in St. Charles/Metro St. Louis, is currently delivering spaces to all of its phase one tenancy.

The Art Institute of St. Louis is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 50 educational institutions located throughout North America.

Los Angeles -- Westfield announced that its Westfield Style fashion program is launching personal styling services on demand at select Westfield centers in May. 

The focal point of the new offering is the Westfield Style Lounge, a dedicated space in the mall where professional stylists will provide free personalized style consultations for shoppers. Additionally, shoppers can get advice on demand right from their mobile phone via the new Ask A Stylist service. Shoppers e-mail a photo of their look to the on-call stylist for an instant response.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Multichannel shopping retailer HSN Inc. reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended March 31 climbed 29% to $26.2 million, from $20.3 million in the year-ago period.

Results were boosted by robust sales from its Cornerstone unit, which includes banners such as Ballard Design, Frontgate and TravelSmith.

Revenue overall rose 5% to $747.3 million. Cornerstone saw an 11% sales rise to $205.4 million. HSN segment sales were up 3% to $541.9 million.

ARMONK, N.Y. — Mobile commerce increased more than 13% in the first quarter of 2012, according to IBM's first retail economic indicator, a cloud-based analytics report, which examines the state of the online retail sector.

The increase in mobile commerce sales, along with improved consumer attitudes toward the digital buying experience, indicate that consumers will be shopping more with their smartphones and other mobile devices in the near future.

Other highlights of the report include:
 

Minneapolis -- Target said it will open its new smaller format concept, CityTarget, at the Beverly Connection in Los Angeles, in March 2013. The 99,000-sq.-ft. will be located on the second floor of the shopping complex, at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly Boulevard.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Ahead of its annual shareholders' meeting, Sears Holdings has provided first-quarter guidance calling for net income between $155 million and $195 million (between $1.46 and $1.84 per diluted share from continuing operations) versus a net loss from continuing operations of $165 million ($1.53 loss per diluted share from continuing operations), for the first quarter in 2011.  The above range includes approximately $235 million, after tax and minority interest, of gains from the sale of certain U.S. and Canadian stores.