Department Store

New York -- After nearly three weeks of testimony, a New York State Supreme Court Judge ordered Macy's, J.C. Penney Co. and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia into mediation to try and reach a settlement in their contract dispute trial.
 
If the three companies do not reach an agreement before April 8, the judge will resume hearing the case.
 
In another development in the ongoing dispute, Penney agreed not to sell certain Martha Stewart-designed goods (products deemed exclusive to Macy’s) until at least April 8.

BURNABY, B.C. — Best Buy has named Ron Wilson as its new president and COO of its Canada operations, effective immediately. In this role, Wilson will lead the business in Canada under the Future Shop and Best Buy brands, including online.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced two new locations for Nordstrom Rack, with stores planned for Chicago and Jacksonville, Fla.

In Jacksonville, Nordstrom Rack will open in The Markets at Town Center in Jacksonville, Fla. The approximately 35,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2013.

The announcement follows recently announced plans to open a Nordstrom full-line store at St. Johns Town Center in fall 2014. Nordstrom currently operates nine full-line stores and eight Rack stores throughout Florida.

City of Industry, Calif. -- Hot Topic announced it has agreed to be acquired by New York-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $14.00 per share in cash, or a total of approximately $600 million.

The agreement, unanimously approved by Hot Topic’s board of directors, represents a premium of approximately 30% over Hot Topic’s closing stock price on March 6, 2013.

New York -- SL Green Realty Corp. announced Wednesday that fashion retailer Alexander McQueen has signed a 15-year lease for a mid-block retail space at 747 Madison Avenue.   

The tenant is expected to move into the space during third quarter 2013.
 
The retail co-op interest at 747 Madison is owned by a joint venture that includes SL Green, Jeff Sutton and Harel Insurance Co.

Virginia Beach, Va. -- Divaris Real Estate announced Wednesday that six new stores totaling 57,434 sq. ft. will open at the company’s Pembroke Mall property, located in Virginia Beach, Va.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Sycamore Partners has agreed to acquire teen retailer Hot Topic for approximately $600 million, or 14 cents per share in cash. The agreement, which has been unanimously approved by Hot Topic’s board of directors, represents a premium of approximately 30% over Hot Topic’s closing stock price on March 6.

Burlington, Mass. -- Demandware, a leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, announced that Brooks Brothers launched a new e-commerce site on the Demandware Commerce platform.