Direct To Consumer (DTC)

New York -- Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group said it has arranged the American debut of Caramel Baby & Child at 1244 Madison Avenue, between 89th and 90th Streets. 

The luxury label, which currently has stores in London and Tokyo, specializes in clothing for babies through toddlers. The newest location is on a corridor that is regarded as a center for luxury children's clothing, and home to such neighbors as Armani Jr., Jacadi, Baby Cottons, J. Crew Cuts, Pink Chicken, Brooks Brothers Children and Rachel Riley.
 

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. — Shortly after announcing the firing of its CEO, Wet Seal said it was looking into the possible sale of the company to the Clinton Group.

Wet Seal received a letter from the Clinton Group on July 23 and issued the following response:

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney is boosting its store-in-store offerings by adding 700 Joe Fresh in-store boutiques to its department stores in April 2013.

Joe Fresh, which is a Canadaian fast-fashion brand, will also be featured on JCP.com.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Teen retailer Hot Topic has named Kate Horton as VP, general merchandise manager for itsTorrid division, which retails fashion apparel, lingerie and accessories for young women who wear sizes 12 and up.

Reporting to Hot Topic Inc. chairman and CEO Lisa Harper, Horton will drive the merchandising strategy for Torrid, leading a team of merchants to develop an assortment of fashion apparel that is reflective of the brand’s position, is enticing to consumers, and drives sales and profit margins.

Teen retailer Five Below is looking to become a household name following a wildly successful public stock offering this week that could see the company expand its store base from the current 200 units to 2,000.

NEW YORK — Customers who want to explore digital reading, but aren't ready to commit to buying an e-reader can now do so through Barnes & Noble's new Nook for Web service. The service is free and customers need only a PC or Mac browser to access the content. No software download, sign-in or Nook account is required. According to the company, the service will be available this fall on Internet-enabled tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices.

NEW YORK — eBay's latest move to brand itself as more than just an online auction site, involves the launch of an exclusive designer collection for the holiday season. The company has partnered with designers Billy Reid, Chris Benz, Fallon, Jonathan Adler, Ruffian, Steven Alan and Tibi for an original, limited-edition gift collection of men’s and women’s apparel, jewelry, travel and electronics accessories and home décor.

New York -- Macy's on Friday won a preliminary injunction against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia that would prevent it from selling some of its products at the chain.

Macy's Inc. sued Martha Stewart Living in January after J.C. Penney acquired a 16.6% stake in Martha Stewart Living and announced plans in December to open Martha Stewart mini-shops beginning next year. Macy’s said that it had exclusive rights to certain categories of the Martha Stewart brand until 2018.

By Dr. Gary Edwards, Empathica

Recently, online fashion retailer Piperlime announced plans to open its first brick-and-mortar location in New York City. For many, the announcement seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom given the competitive pricing and other advantages e-commerce providers have over traditional retailers.

Why would a successful e-tailer like Piperlime want to take on the additional cost and headaches associated with a physical store?

Philadelphia -- Visionworks, the largest wholly owned U.S.-based optical retailer, has opened its first store in the Philadelphia area. Located in Deptford Township, N.J., it is the first of more than 25 stores expected to open in the market through 2013.

The San Antonio-based retailer plans to open 17 stores before the end of 2012 and additional locations by April 2013.