Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Jakarta/Singapore -- Wal-Mart Stores is in talks to become a partner of Indonesian retailer PT Matahari Putra Prima to develop its hypermarts, according to Reuters.

South Korea's Lotte Shopping Co. has withdrawn from talks for a deal with Matahari, the report said. Matahari last month said it will seek a “global partner” to develop its hypermart business.

Chapel Hill, N.C. -- Performance Bicycle, the nation’s largest specialty bike retailer, announced that in April it will open six new stores in four states nationwide.

The expansion includes stores in Sacramento and Berkeley, Calif.; Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin, Texas; Atlanta, and the company’s first ever store in Idaho, in Boise.

These six locations join Performance Bicycle’s 94 existing stores.

New York City -- Gap announced a series of changes to help revive its struggling namesake division, which hasn't posted a gain on an annual basis since 2004. The company has tapped the head of its outlet division, Art Peck, to replace Marka Hansen as leader of the Gap brand for North America, effective immediately. Peck is credited with growing the company’s highly-profitable Outlet business for the past three years. He also has been a primary architect of the company’s franchise business and international growth platform.

New York City -- New York & Co. said Tuesday it has promoted current president Gregory Scott to the role of CEO, effective Feb. 12.

Richard P. Crystal, current chairman and CEO, had previously announced his impending retirement, effective Feb. 11.

Grace Nichols, who has served as a director since March 2008, will assume the role of non-executive chair of the board effective Feb. 12. Scott will remain a director on the company’s board.

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Privately held European women’s apparel retailer, Desigual, said it has leased nearly 6,400 sq. ft. on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica from landlord Promenade Gateway, an affiliate of Maxxam Enterprises.

The store will serve as Desigual’s flagship West Coast location. The retailer currently has more than 170 retail locations and approximately 450 shop-in-shops in major department stores across Europe and Asia.

City of Industry, Calif. -- Hot Topic said Monday that Chris Daniel, president of the company’s plus-size Torrid division, has resigned effective April 29.

The company has named Betsy McLaughlin as interim head of Torrid upon Daniel’s departure, and said it will conduct an outside search for a permanent replacement.

New York City -- Robert K. Futterman & Associates said Monday that it has secured a long-term lease for Gap 1969 at 513 Broadway, between Spring and Broome Streets in SoHo, for the brand’s first permanent location in New York City for the concept store.  

Gap 1969 is currently operating in a temporary space at 524 Broadway.  Scheduled to open in early spring 2011, the new apparel store will occupy 2,800 sq. ft. of ground-floor selling space, and 3,000 sq. ft. in the basement and 3,000 sq. ft. in the sub-basement.    

Pearl River, N.J. -- Katz & Associates, the exclusive broker for Eastern Mountain Sports, announced that the retailer has executed a lease for a 3,000-sq.-ft. flagship on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

The two-level store, EMS’ second to date in Manhattan, will be located on the southeast corner of Broadway and West 76th Street. It is scheduled to open this fall.