Apparel

NEW YORK — MG Icon, the joint venture among Iconix Brand Group Inc., Madonna and Guy Oseary announced that that it is looking for the next stars of the national marketing campaign for Macy's exclusive Material Girl brand. The "Lucky Stars" model search will launch on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Macy's Herald Square in New York and will culminate on Nov. 21 online at www.materialgirlcollection.com.

Stratham, N.H. -- Timberland announced it will open a store in the Calhoun Square shopping district of Minneapolis on Nov. 18.

New York City -- A new concept, C. Wonder, has made its retail debut, opening a 5,000-sq.-ft. store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The company is on track to open three mall  locations this fall: Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J.; The Westchester Mall, White Plains, N.Y.; and Roosevelt Field, Garden City, N.J.  An additional 20 locations are planned for 2010, according to various reports.

New Canaan, Conn. -- Value-focused but financially healthier American consumers will propel 2011 holiday sales to a record $554 billion, according to retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners’ 10th annual holiday forecast. The forecast, which is significantly more upbeat than other holiday surveys, predicts total retail sales growth of 6.5% for the November-December period over last year, the most rapid growth since 6.9% in 2004 — and over twice consensus forecasts called for lackluster growth of only 2.5%-3%.

By Craig Johnson, [email protected]

The fashion and retail blogospheres went into overdrive with complaints about how Target botched the launch of its latest and exclusive limited time collection, Missoni for Target. And shoppers across the nation took to Facebook, Twitter and other sites to share their frustrations. The folks who seemed to be the most put-out were those who ordered goods online.  After experiencing long delays and going through any number of hurdles before they were even able to place an order, many are now being told that their orders would be delayed or, even worse, canceled.

Hamilton Township, N.J. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management said Thursday that its year-long, multi-million dollar renovation of 59-year-old Hamilton Plaza is nearing completion. The renovation of the 184,272-sq.-ft. center, located in Hamilton Twp., N.J., includes significant upgrades to the common areas, and the addition of two pad sites and a 10,000-sq.-ft. end cap.

New York City -- Multiple reports on Wednesday said that American Apparel’s head of business development Marty Staff has abruptly quit the company.

A report in the New York Post said that Staff had a falling out with the company’s CEO Dov Charney.