Direct To Consumer (DTC)

New York -- Woolrich, the Pennsylvania-based outwear and lifestyle brand, has opened its first-ever freestanding store, in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. The move follows the recent opening of three Woolrich stores in Europe, including a store in Hamburg, Germany, and Prague.

Fort Worth, Texas - RadioShack's Fix It Here same-day mobile repair service is now available in 32 stores in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. By visiting their neighborhood RadioShack store, smartphone and tablet owners can have common issues such as cracked screens, broken buttons and damaged charging ports repaired.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open two new stores in the California Central Valley on Oct. 11. The stores are located in Bakersfield Plaza in Bakersfield and the Delano Marketplace in Delano.  

These new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year. 

Tory Burch, an upscale women’s apparel and accessories company, has appointed former Ralph Lauren executive Roger Farah co-CEO, sharing the title with founder and current CEO Tory Burch, who will remain chairperson.

Dublin, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores Inc. will open a new store in Las Vegas on Sept. 27. The store is located in the Winterwood Pavilion.

Including this new location, DD’s Discounts will operate 150 locations in 14 states and is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014. Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. will acquire the remaining shares of its Japanese joint venture, Starbucks Coffee Japan, for $913 million to accelerate growth across multiple channels in the country, including the introduction of new concepts such as Teavana. The acquisition is the largest to date made by Starbucks. Japan is the company’s second-largest market in store sales after the United States.

“Full ownership in this market is the right approach for the future," said Troy Alstead, COO, Starbucks, in a conference call with analysts.

Toronto -- One of the nation’s most venerable department store brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, has given a big boost to the retail revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Saks’ parent Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners to open two stores in downtown Manhattan: a 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place (formerly called the World Financial Center), and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza.

Following fourth quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations, Ascena Retail is looking ahead to fiscal 2015, which CEO David Jaffe said will see the continuation of a critical, multi-year investment to build the company’s omnichannel platform.

The company reported net earnings of $15.7 million, compared with $29.8 million in the year-ago period.