Department Store

Longmont, Colo. — NewMark Merrill Mountain States has taken possession of the Dillard’s building at the former Twin Peaks Mall, a key step in the redevelopment of the center as the Village at the Peaks shopping center.

Demolition of the old Twin Peaks Mall is set to begin early in the summer of 2014, paving the way for the new shopping destination, Village at the Peaks, to open in 2015.

London  -- ECommera, a provider of Big Data and omni-channel commerce solutions for retailers, has completed a $41 million Series C funding round. Dawn Capital led the round together with investors West Coast Capital, Frog Capital, EPlanet Capital, WPP and new partner Wti.

Little Rock, Ark. – Dillard’s Inc. reported declining net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, Dillard’s reported a 26% decline in net income to $119.1 million from $161.4 million.

Net sales in the fourth quarter declined 3% to $2.03 billion from $2.1 billion, and same-store sales grew 2%. During the fiscal year, net income dropped about 4% to $323.7 million from $336 million, and net sales slightly declined to $6.53 billion from $6.59 billion. Same-store sales rose 1%.

Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II voiced disappointment in the retailer’s gross margin performance despite what he called a profitable fourth quarter. Although comparable sales grew 2%, the retailer said lower-than-anticipated sales necessitated heavy markdowns.

Denver — H&M has signed a lease for 20,000 sq. ft. at The Orchard Town Center, a 914,000-sq.-ft. open air regional retail center in Westminster, Colo., according to Vestar, the property’s owner. H&M plans to open the new store in the fall.

The addition of H&M comes less than two months after Vestar acquired the property for $123.5 million in an all cash transaction. Vestar plans to redevelop the project, rebranding the center with new amenities while brining in new retailers.

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open four new locations in Florida on March 8, adding to its existing store base of more than 130 locations in the Sunshine State. New locations include the Coral Ridge Mall in Fort Lauderdale, Seabridge Square in St. Augustine, Lake Mary Centre in Lake Mary, and Southchase Village in Orlando.  

Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate approximately 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Houston - Men's Wearhouse has increased its purchase offer for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. to $63.50 per share, or about $1.78 billion, from $57.50 per share, or about $1.6 billion. The bid may increase to $65 a share, or about $1.82 billion, if Jos. A. Bank agrees to halt its planned acquisition of Eddie Bauer and lets Men’s Wearhouse conduct limited due diligence. On February 14, Jos. A. Bank agreed to buy Eddie Bauer for $825 million, but reserved the right to terminate the deal if a superior transaction emerged.