Direct To Consumer (DTC)

St. Louis -- An affiliate of Sun Capital Partners and Kellwood announced an agreement to acquire Amsterdam-based fashion brand Scotch & Soda.  The deal is expected to close in August 2011 upon regulatory approval. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

New York City -- Williams-Sonoma’s West Elm brand will open its first ever pop-up shop, in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on July 14.

The 3,300-sq.-ft. store will offer a unique mix of products picked especially for Georgetown and with the small living spaces of nearby colleges and universities in mind.

It’s only been two months since Walmart acquired an undisclosed minority interest in Chinese online supermarket operator Yihaodian, but now the company is indicating it may conduct an initial public stock offering in the United States, according to Bloomberg.

The new agency said the Shanghai-based company is looking to expand aggressively and quoted Yihaodian chairman Yu Gang as saying the company will most likely sell shares to the public in the United States but offered no timetable.

Former Walmart China executives Rob Cissell and Shawn Gray have joined the retail subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, according to the Economic Times of India. Cissell will serve Reliance CEO and Gray will serve as COO, according to the newspaper.

LUXEMBOURG — Amazon.com continues to strengthen its global operations with its agreement to acquire The Book Depository International. The Book Depository is a U.K.-based online bookseller offering over six million books for delivery worldwide.

RACINE, Wis. — SC Johnson has introduced Windex Mini, a concentrated refill pouch that uses 90% less plastic packaging than a traditional 26 fluid ounce trigger bottle.

According to SC Johnson, data shows U.S. consumers are not keen on refilling their household cleaning bottles and is hoping the launch of Windex Mini will help the company understand why that is the case.

Last week Janney Montgomery Scott analyst David Strasser downgraded shares of Target to neutral from buy. He offered a litany of things that could go wrong with the Target story, which were subsequently refuted by someone named Will Ashworth on the website “Investopedia.”

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Borders Group announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell itself to Najafi Cos. for $215 million. The deal is subject to court approval.

Najafi Cos. is a Phoenix-based private investment company which owns the Book-of-the-Month Club.

The "stalking horse" bid will open an auction for the company and its assets, so a higher bid is possible, according to reports.