Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Minneapolis -- Target on Friday announced that Target Canada has reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the leasehold interests in up to 39 sites, currently operated by Zellers.

Specific locations will be identified later this fall. Terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

Walmart doesn’t need a lot of help when it comes to growth, which is why last week’s announcement by Target to sell its larger rival 39 sites in Canada was a surprise. Walmart is on track to end this year with 333 stores, and on Friday Target said it had reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the rights for leasehold interests in up to 39 sites currently operated by Zellers. The sites are among the up to 220 possible sites whose leasehold interests Target is acquiring as part of a real estate transaction announced in January.

Urban street wear retailer Dr. Jay’s has updated its flagship store in Manhattan, with a fresh, bold look that invigorates the popular brand while enhancing the customer experience.

Toronto -- J. Crew announced Friday it will open its first Canadian store in August at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, located in Toronto.

The approximately 5000-sq.-ft. store, which will offer women’s-only clothing and accessories, marks J. Crew’s international debut, joining recent market entries by retailers such as Target and Big Lots in leveraging Canada’s relatively strong economy.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Genesco announced Thursday that it has acquired Schuh Group, a specialty retailer of casual and athletic footwear based in the United Kingdom.

The purchase price was $159 million.

Headquartered in Scotland, Schuh operates 59 stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, 16 concessions in Republic apparel stores and one of the U.K.'s largest online shoe websites. 

Kansas City, Kan. -- Legends Outlets Kansas City said Wednesday that the region’s first Chico’s Outlet and Soma Intimates Outlet will open on June 24 at the Kansas City outlet shopping destination.

The Chico's Outlet's new store will be located between BCBG MaxAzria and Five Guys Burgers & Fries, and the Soma Intimates Outlet's new store will be located between Gymboree and Claire's.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Hennes & Mauritz AB reported Wednesday that net income for its 2Q dropped 18% to $673 million, from $817 million in the year-ago period.

The Swedish fashion retailer blamed higher procurement costs and promotional offers for the lagging performance.

Sales edged up to $5.1 billion from $4.96 billion in the prior year quarter, but gross margin shrank to 61.7% from a previous 65.9%.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN announced that Arthur Lewis has been appointed SVP merchandising, digital commerce, effective June 27.  Lewis will report directly to Jill Braff, EVP digital commerce for HSN.

Lewis will oversee HSN's cross-channel merchandising strategy on hsn.com, mobile and tablet platforms.  He will also leverage his extensive digital background to grow all brands and categories of business, including online product exclusives and category expansions, the company reported.