News

Global lifestyle brand Lacoste is gearing up to launch a free downloadable mobile application called Lacoste City Tennis. The brand partnered with a leading sports and entertainment agency, Lagardere Unlimited, to bring the concept to digital life.

Lacoste City Tennis offers users an interactive experience that aims to make playing tennis in New York City more accessible. The app’s immersive features allow users to check out Lacoste products as well as follow the sport through tournament feeds.  

Ann Inc. is being urged to explore options, including a sale, by activist investor Engine Capital and Red Alder. The two firms, who collectively own more than 1% of the outstanding shares of Ann Inc., are publicly urging the company to sell at a substantial premium above current stock price.

In an open letter to the retailer’s board of directors, Engine Capital and Red Alder stated that the company is “deeply undervalued” and could be worth $50 to $55 a share to an acquirer, or a 33- to 46.5% premium to its current stock price.

Ralph Lauren is diving into wearable technology waters with the unveiling of a high-performance, fashion-forward Polo Tech shirt on opening day of the US Open.

The Polo Tech shirt is an innovative new product from a fashion brand that merges biometrics into active lifestyle apparel, marking a revolution in advanced technology designed to improve general wellness and increase personal fitness.

The shirt features sensors knitted into the core of the product to read biological and physiological information.

Amazon has reached an agreement to acquire Twitch Interactive, a leading live video platform for gamers. In July, more than 55 million unique visitors viewed more than 15 billion minutes of content on Twitch produced by more than 1 million broadcasters, including individual gamers, pro players, publishers, developers, media outlets, conventions and stadium-filling e-sports organizations.

PetSmart has partnered with the City of Sacramento to bring a portable, popup dog park to Sacramento. The dog park, which provides more than 9,000 sq. ft. of space for pet owners and their pets, is now open.

There are currently two other PetSmart P.U.P.s in the country: one in Phoenix, Arizona, and a second in downtown Detroit (Detroit’s first urban dog park). In addition, PetSmart plans to bring a P.U.P. to one more community by the end of 2014.

New York -- Toms, the footwear company best known for donating a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair it sells, has sold a 50% stake in its company to private equity giant Bain Capital LLC. The investment will help Toms expand its distribution in Europe, Asia and in the United States, including increasing its store count from its current two locations.

The investment reportedly values Toms at about $625 million, including debt. Blake Mycoskie, who founded Toms in 2006, will retain a 50% stake and remain at the helm.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced today the closing of its acquisition of Trunk Club, a leading personalized clothing service for men.
 
The company previously announced its proposed acquisition of Trunk Club by press release on July 31.

New York -- Teen apparel retailer PacSun is partnering with content creators from YouTube in a fun back-to-school marketing campaign. The campaign will feature YouTube stars from StyleHaul, an online community of YouTube subscribers dedicated to women’s fashion and beauty, AdWeek reported.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada -- Sears Canada Inc. announced the opening of a new 240,000-sq.-ft. fulfillment center located in Calgary, Alberta.

New York -- Instagram is making itself more advertising-friendly, adding a new suite of business tools for its advertisers that will help the brands better control their campaigns and will allow them to gauge the success of their efforts.

The roll-out of the new features, which include an “account insights” tool that will allow marketers to track the performance of their ads in real-time using typical brand metrics such as impressions, reach, and engagement, will occur over the coming weeks and months, the photo-sharing giant said.