News

New York -- Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s founder, Dennis "Chip" Wilson, reached an agreement to sell half his stake in the women's yoga-wear company to Advent International of Boston for $845 million. The deal will give Advent, which owned shares of Lululemon from 2005 to 2009 and was one of the company's early venture capital backers, 20.1 million shares, or 13.9% of the company (Lululemon went public in 2009). It also gives Advent two seats on the board, including Advent's managing partner David Mussafer, who will become co-chairman of the retailer.

As the start of the school year gets closer, Kids Foot Locker has joined forces with Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul, widely known by fans, media and fellow athletes as CP3, to promote the store’s line of Jordan products.
 
A new commercial, produced by BBDO and slated to start airing on children’s networks Aug. 8, features Paul taking photos with young basketball players wearing Jordan gear.

Banana Republic in late August will extend its digital reach as part of a select group of brands partnering with Instagram on paid advertising — a first-time amplification for the brand on the platform.

Gap posted positive comps in July for the four-week period ended August 2, buoyed by sales at Banana Republic; but preliminary second-quarter results show that comparable store sales were flat compared to the same period last year.

Net sales in July increased 5% to $1.17 billion compared with net sales of $1.12 billion for the four-week period ended August 3. For the second quarter, Gap Inc.’s net sales increased 3% to $3.98 billion compared with $3.87 billion for the second quarter last year.

A more cautious consumer led to weaker-than-anticipated traffic at Hibbett in the second quarter, prompting the sporting goods retailer to revise its earnings expectations for the full year.

Net sales for the 13-week period ended August 2 are expected to increase 4.2% to $194 million compared with $186.2 million for the year-ago period. Comparable store sales are expected to increase 0.1% for the quarter.

Central Garden & Pet took a few steps back in the third quarter, posting an 11% sales decrease and a year-over-year decline in income.

Net sales for the three months ended June 28 were $438.0 million, down from $494.1 million in the third quarter of 2013. The decline took place in both the Pet and Garden segments, and it was exacerbated by a $16.9 million charge related to the discontinuance of two garden products.

Overstock.com is offering shoppers a new method of paying for their purchases — a store credit card. The new cards will be provided by Comenity Capital Bank, which furnishes credits cards for retailers such as Buckle and Express.
 
"We always like to give our customers options," Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said. "That applies to both product selection and payment method. Allowing customers to pay for larger purchases over time is an exciting development and one that has been received enthusiastically."
 

CVS/pharmacy has launched an exclusive beauty collection called Makeup Academy, which includes more than 145 products within three categories: lip products, false eyelashes and makeup brushes.

Office Depot’s is looking to elevate its business performance with a range of new insights and operational capabilities resulting from an expanded relationship with Teradata.

Office Depot had an existing relationship with Teradata, a leading provider of analytic data platforms, marketing applications and related services, but its involvement with the technology leader is expanding at a time when Office Depot is looking to elevate its performance in the wake of last year’s merger with OfficeMax.

Polygroup Limited, Chartpak and Tru Vue were among the trading partners and service providers recognized by The Michaels Companies as Partners of the Year.
 
The arts and crafts retailers held a gala event in Dallas on August 7 and singled out 11 companies who demonstrated a commitment to surpassing expectations and continually providing excellence in service, quality and innovation.