News

Los Angeles -- Private equity firm Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority stake in Sundance Holdings Group ("Sundance Catalog").

Sundance Catalog, founded by Robert Redford in 1989 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a multichannel direct marketer and specialty retailer of women's apparel and accessories, jewelry and home furnishings. Selling shareholders, including ACI Capital and Webster Capital, will retain a minority ownership stake, and the business will remain under the leadership of current president and CEO Matey Erdos.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot has been named to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of 2012 Energy Star Leaders for Leadership in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

In the baseline year of 2004, Office Depot facilities emitted 381,689 metric tons of carbon dioxide. By 2011, the carbon footprint of Office Depot’s facilities was 239,319 metric tons -- a reduction of over 140,000 metric tons, or 37 percent over the seven year period.

SEATTLE — Recreational Equipment Inc. is making its Kansas debut with its first store set to open in Overland Park in the fall of 2013.

Framingham, Mass. -- Mobile payments have more than doubled in popularity reaching over 33% of survey respondents, according to IDC Financial Insights’ eighth annual Consumer Payments Survey.

The new report, “Business Strategy: Results from the 2012 Consumer Payments Survey,” found that those that of whose had made a mobile payment, more than half used PayPal Mobile (56%), with Amazon Payments and Apple's iTunes service statistically tied at about 40%. 

MINNEAPOLIS and DALLAS — Target and Neiman Marcus have joined forces for a unique partnership that will bring a limited-edition holiday collection to both stores beginning Dec. 1. The collection will also be available online at Target.com and NeimanMarcus.com.

Dallas – Loyalty and marketing solution-provider Alliance Data Systems Corp. said Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year renewal agreement to continue providing the private label credit card program for Omaha-Neb.-based Gordmans Stores, which operates 78 stores in 46 markets across 18 states.

Additionally, Gordmans and Alliance Data have begun a full rollout of Alliance Data's in-store, tablet-based mobile technology to drive account acquisition efforts following a successful pilot earlier in 2012.
 

San Diego – Warehouse club operator PriceSmart Inc. reported Tuesday that net income for the third quarter slipped 4% to $15.7 million, compared with $16.3 m million last year.

Revenue rose 18% to $506.8 million from $431.1 million, missing Wall Street’s forecasted $508.2 million. Same-store sales increased 12.9%.
 

Atlanta -- Stibo Systems announced that Best Buy Canada has selected Stibo Systems to optimize its customer’s online and mobile e-commerce experience.

Best Buy Canada, which operates roughly 225 consumer electronics stores under the brands Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, and Future Shop, will use Stibo Systems’ Step platform to support their multichannel efforts and to streamline item setup and data management for the English-Canadian and French-Canadian versions of www.bestbuy.ca and www.futureshop.ca.