Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Brooklyn, Ohio – The Weiss family, which founded the public American Greetings greeting card company is now looking to take it private. As reported by Reuters, the Weiss family is raising an existing buyout offer of $18.20 per share to $19 per share.

The increased offer was contained in a regulatory filing made July 1.
 

New York – XO Group Inc., parent company of wedding/baby-themed e-commerce brands such as The Knot, The Bump and ijie.com, has named Michael Steib president, effective July 1. Steib most recently served as CEO of Vente-Privee USA, an e-commerce venture backed by American Express, and also held digital executive positions at companies including Google and NBC Universal.

Tampa, Fla. -- Madison Marquette Retail Services has announced the opening of five new retailers with five more to come this year at its Hyde Park Village shopping center in Tampa, Fla.

The five open retailers include a 1,430-sq.-ft. Francesca’s Collections and four local and regional names: Betty with 1,000 sq. ft., a 939-sq.-ft. Don Me Now Styling & Clothing Lounge, FITniche with 2,251 sq. ft. and Piquant, a French restaurant and bakery, which took 5,397 sq. ft.

Williams Lake, B.C. – Canadian e-commerce company UNA Global LLC is opening a new online retail site, FitnessConnections4U.com. The site specializes in at-home fitness products such as weights, benches, exercise mats and vitamins and supplements. It also offers a free blog with product reviews, exercise routines, safety precautions, and articles.

The mantra of “move, nourish, believe” occupies a prominent spot on the blue walls of Lorna Jane, Santa Monica, Calif. With its bright colors, fashionable accents, and welcoming atmosphere, the store has an upbeat, sporty-girl vibe that is very much in keeping with the Australian active wear brand’s positioning. Motivational expressions can be found throughout the space.

Austin, Minn. -- Karis Ventures LLC, an online retailer of kitchen products, has unveiled a new e-commerce site known as MyNewKitchenProducts.com. Product categories include blenders, coffee makers, cookware sets, food dehydrators, frying pans, juicers, kitchen carts, pasta makers, pot racks, pressure cookers, refrigerators and mini fridges, rice cookers, wine racks and wine coolers. Customers can filter products by price and create personal accounts to track orders.

Secaucus, N.J. – The Children’s Place is partnering with Israeli fashion chain Fox-Wizel Ltd. to open stores in Israel, starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2014. The two companies inked a 10-year franchise agreement.

Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- Swedish children’s wear brand Polarn O. Pyret USA has opened its first Boston-area store at THE STREET in Chestnut Hill, according to WS Development, the center’s developer and owner. This is the fifth Polarn O. Pyret (pronounced POH-lahrn oh PEE-rhet and nicknames PO.P) in the U.S. and the fourth on the east coast.