Apparel

Dallas -- HR solution-provider PeopleAnswers and Canada-based Town Shoes, which sells under Town Shoes and The Shoe Co., announced Tuesday that Town Shoes will use the PeopleAnswers pre-employment and employee selection solution in its 124 stores across Canada.

New York City -- Coach Inc. reported Tuesday that net earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 15% to $347.5 million, compared with $303.4 million in the year-ago period.

Sales increased 15% to $1.45 billion, beating Wall Street’s expected $1.43 billion in revenue.

Beachwood, Ohio -- Shopping center developer DDR Corp. said Monday that Anna's Linens will open three of its first Puerto Rico stores at DDR shopping centers.

These new locations represent the most recent example of DDR's efforts to strategically reduce and reconfigure small shop space at attractive market rents with high-quality tenants.

NEW YORK — Hudson's Bay Company, the Canadian retail conglomerate, and one of the oldest department-store operators in the world, announced Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of its affiliate, Lord & Taylor Holdings, LLC, the U.S. department-store company.

According to a company press release, Hudson's Bay will now operate the two leading retail banners in North America, The Bay and Lord & Taylor. Prior to the transaction, Hudson's Bay Company and Lord & Taylor were side-by-side affiliate entities.

Madison, Miss. -- Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties announced that Michaels would join the second phase of The Forum at Grandview, a community center in Madison, Miss.

Construction for the 83,000-sq.-ft. second phase is currently underway. In addition to Michaels, anchors will include Ulta, Homegoods, and Petco as well as 14,000 sq. ft. of specialty stores. The opening of phase II is scheduled for summer 2012.

New York City -- Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group said it has arranged a long-term lease at 1225 Madison Avenue for Poulet Rose, the recently launched tween division of young girl's fashion and accessories brand Pink Chicken.  

The current lease represents the brands' first standalone store in New York City, with only one other, a Pink Chicken, located in Amagansett. 
 

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Regency Centers announced it has closed on the acquisition of its first New York property, the 141,382-sq.-ft. Lake Grove Commons, for $72.5 million with its co-investment partner First Washington Realty.

Located on Long Island, Lake Grove Commons is a Class A property anchored by the only Whole Foods Market in Suffolk County along with LA Fitness and Petco. Built in 2008, the center is fully leased to six national tenants.

London -- A report released Tuesday by Bloomberg said that U.K. clothing chain Bonmarche will close as many as 160 out of 390 stores after its owner Peacock Group sold the chain to an affiliate of Sun European Partners.

KPMG administrated the transaction; the new buyer said that about 2,400 of 3,800 jobs will be retained.

The report said that KPMG had been seeking a buyer for Bonmarche since being appointed earlier this month as administrator to Peacock, which also owns Peacock’s Stores Ltd., a U.K. discount apparel chain.