Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Mahwah, N.J. - Brian Lynch, a 35-year fashion and retail industry veteran, has been named president and CEO of Ascena Retail Group’s Justice brand, which is targeted at tween girls. Lynch most recently served as president of Ann Taylor brand. Previously, he held executive positions with Ann Inc.; Gap Inc.; Learningsmit Inc.; and The Walt Disney Co.

Lynch replaces Michael Rayden, who retired in January. Rayden had announced his retirement in October, and Ascena subsequently launched a search for his replacement.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack is reportedly asking a bankruptcy court to approve a roughly $160 million bod from Standard General LP that would keep 1,743 stores of the retailer’s roughly 4,000 stores open. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Standard General bid also the backing of the official committee of RadioShack’s unsecured creditors.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (RH) reported that its profit for the fourth quarter increased a better-than-expected 25% to $42.5 million from $34.0 million in the year-ago period. The upscale home furnishings company cited the West Coast port slowdown in providing first-quarter guidance that fell short of projections. But it remained upbeat about the long-term, and disclosed that it is working on two new concepts that will be revealed later this year.  

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop on Thursday said it plans to open between 350 to 550 stores in its technology brands segment (whose banners include Simply Mac, Cricket and Spring Mobile, which sells post-paid AT&T services and wireless products through its 358 AT&T branded stores) while closing about 3%,  some  200, of its 6,000 GameStop video locations in 2015.

Trendy teen retailer American Apparel reported a deep decline in fourth quarter revenue, as the company grapples with a social media scandal and losses stemming from an investigation of its former CEO.

New York -- RKF has arranged a 1,560-sq.-ft. lease with international high-end fashion retailer IRO at 241 Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side in New York City. This will be the second Manhattan store for the French apparel brand, known for its mixing of luxury fabrics with casual street style.

The transaction was arranged by RKF’s executive VP Joshua Strauss and associate Taryn Talmadge, who represented IRO, while the building ownership was represented by RKF executive VP Ariel Schuster and managing director Brandon Eisenman.

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Online teen fave Nasty Gal is opening its second brick-and-mortar location on March 27, on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California.

Amazon is accelerating the expansion of its one-hour delivery servcie with a rollout of the program in Dallas.

The e-commerce giant started its Prime Now rapid delivery service in December in parts of Manhattan, and expanded to Baltimore and Miami this month.

The ultra-fast service initially launched as a benefit for Prime members.

GameStop’s strongest growth in 2015 will have little to do with gaming as the company plans to open between 350 to 550 stores in technology brands segment while paring its GameStop store presence.

The company’s technology brands segment is comprised of 361 ATT&T brand stores, 63 Cricket branded stores that offer wireless products and services and 60 Simply Mac Stores. Meanwhile, the company has indicated it will close 3%, or nearly 200 of its approximately 6,000 traditional video game stores.

Anaheim, Calif. -- Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. on Wednesday reported a loss of $26 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.

The teen apparel retailer reported revenue of $231.6 million in the period, which topped Street forecasts. Same-store sales increased 6%.