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09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time -- Transaction Extends Business into Specialty Retail Market for Plus-Size Apparel -- -- Ascena to Focus Business, Close Fashion Bug and Divest Figi’s -- -- Sees Strong Long-term Stockholder Returns Resulting from Growth and Synergies -- SUFFERN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (NASDAQ – ASNA) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Charming Shoppes, Inc., a leading apparel retailer specializing in women’s plus-size apparel. Charming Shoppes shareholders received $7.35 for each share of Charming Shoppes. Ascena financed the approximately $900 million transaction through a combination of cash on hand and $325 million

Last June, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced it was opening up the opportunity for companies to establish new generic top-level domain (gTLD) names — think .com, .gov, .net, etc. After gathering applications for the first five months of this year, ICANN revealed the list of the 1,930 applications. Amazon.com is prominently featured on that list.

Philadelphia — Downtown Philadelphia will be the site for Walgreens' next Well Experience flagship store, according to an online report published Friday by CBS/Philly. The new Walgreens will be located at Broad and Chestnut Streets in Center City, filling the space of what was once a Borders bookstore. The retail space extends 26,000 sq. ft. across three floors. The CBS/Philly report suggested the new store will open its doors this fall, citing the real estate agent who brokered the deal. Walgreens Well Experience flagship stores currently are located in Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Washington, D.C. In addition

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group on Friday said that it has completed its acquisition of Charming Shoppes. The company also announced that it plans to cease operating and close down Charming Shoppes’ Fashion Bug business by early 2013, and is exploring a potential sale of Charming Shoppes’ Figi’s business, which markets food and specialty gift products. In 2011, Charming Shoppes closed 124 Fashion Bug stores. The chain had previously announced its intention to continue to close certain Fashion Bug stores. Charming Shoppes, whose banners include Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherines Plus Sizes, will operate as a separate

Colonial Candle is opening its first retail and research boutique in Charleston, S.C. The 3,000 square-foot flagship store is the 103-year-old candle company's first and only boutique. Located in Charleston's most exclusive shopping location, The Shops at Charleston Place, the Colonial Candle boutique joins an exclusive collection of world-renowned luxury brands including Godiva, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Lacoste. The flagship store will feature Colonial Candle's complete line, including the brand's signature oval jars in 70 fragrances, tapers in more than 20 colors, a luxury collection and home accessories.

A few surprises showed up when my company analyzed the email marketing practices of Internet Retailer's Top 500 online retailers this year. On the up side, more retailers are cross-pollinating their email and social channels for greater growth and engagement. They're also emailing more often in the critical first 30 days after opt-in. But the study also found that fewer marketers offer new subscribers options either to customize their email program or to avoid unsubscribing later on. 

Empathica, a global provider of customer experience management solutions, announced that its Consumer Insights Panel survey of more than 6,500 U.S. consumers found that despite a high desire to provide feedback, consumers are disenchanted by brands’ lack of responsiveness. Survey results showed that 85 percent of consumers have provided some form of feedback to big-box retailers, yet only 46 percent of respondents believe that brands actually use this feedback to make constructive changes to the customer experience. 

OfficeMax has launched a new delivery program that reuses and recycles boxes for deliveries to business customers. The new program — Boomerang Box by OfficeMax — is projected to reduce box consumption by 80 percent among participating businesses. Boomerang Box by OfficeMax launches this month in Seattle, and will expand nationwide in the second half of 2012. Business participation in the program is free and voluntary for all customers nationwide that are served through OfficeMax's delivery fleet. The program is also designed for easy use to encourage widespread adoption.

Dallas -- Three weeks after being named the first civilian director/CEO in the nearly 117-year history of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Tom Shull officially took the reins Thursday of the $10 billion military retailer. Shull replaced the Exchange’s last uniformed Commander, Brig. Gen. Fran Hendricks. With the official signing of the paperwork, the Exchange has been disestablished as a major command and remains a joint nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force under the jurisdiction of the chief of staff of the U.S. Army and the chief of staff of the