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New York & Co. reported a loss of $10.9 million in the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $14.9 million a year earlier. Sales dropped to $271.8 million from $303.2 million in the same quarter last year, missing Wall Street’s expected $275 million in revenue. Same-store sales fell 6.3 percent. Looking ahead, the retailer said it expects to open 11 outlet locations and one full-price store in the first quarter of 2012, as well as remodel four existing locations and close two stores, ending the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 with 542 stores.

Sam's Club and WhatToExpect.com, the online home to Heidi Murkoff's What to Expect pregnancy and parenting brand, announced an exclusive retail program on WhatToExpect.com. According to a press release, as the exclusive deals retailer for WhatToExpect.com in 2012, Sam's Club is dedicated to providing baby care resources to its members and WhatToExpect.com moms and dads-to-be.

During the 2011 holiday season, the top retail apps and websites combined — Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Wal-Mart — reached nearly 60 percent of smartphone owners, according to Nielsen. “The majority of smartphone owners used their devices for shopping this past holiday season,” said John Burbank, president of strategic initiatives at Nielsen. “Mobile shopping has reached scale and is only going to grow as smartphone penetration continues to rise.”

Kohl’s was honored with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2012 Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes Kohl’s long-term commitment to protecting the environment through energy-efficiency initiatives. Kohl’s was recognized by the EPA in 2010 and 2011 as an Energy Star Partner of the Year, and in 2011 also became the first retailer to be named an EPA Green Power Partner of the Year for three consecutive years.

Typically, department store retailers place their flagship locations in a major mall or prime downtown location. Discount outlets are often miles away in a complex housing other chains' or manufacturers' overstocks and irregular items. Well, not that it's new news, but Nordstrom is not your typical retailer. The company has proved that once again by opening one of its Rack stores a "crosswalk" away from its flagship in downtown Seattle. Blake Nordstrom, president of the chain, told The Seattle Times, "What we've learned is that our Racks do well when they're closest to our flagships." Geevy Thomas, president of

OfficeMax has named a new executive to lead its merchandising initiatives, including category management, strategic product planning, global sourcing, private label expansion and cost of goods sold. The company anounced that Ronald Lalla has been named executive vice president, chief merchandising officer, effective Monday, March 19. Lalla will report to Michael Lewis, executive vice president, president retail. "Ron is a strategic merchant with a strong financial acumen who will focus on driving disciplined processes to enhance the customer experience and improve margins," said Ravi Saligram, president and CEO of OfficeMax.

The adidas Group and Adams Golf today announced that the TaylorMade-adidas Golf business segment has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Adams Golf for $10.80 per share in cash. The transaction value is approximately $70 million, which represents a premium of approximately 71 percent to the share price prior to Adams Golf's announcement that it was examining strategic alternatives on January 4, 2012.

SEATTLE, WA (BRAIN)REI this week reported an 8.4 percent jump in annual sales for 2011, to $1.66 billion, but operating income was down slightly, to $116.2 million from 2010s record $116.6 million. Net income was flat compared with 2010 at $30.2 million. We experienced strong sales in 2011. However, because winter weather failed to arrive, our profitability was impacted, said Brian Unmacht, REIs executive vice president. Looking ahead, our underlying strong financial position allows us to continue our growth plans and invest in ways that make it easy for customers and members to shop REI however they wishonline, on

NBC's new talent contest "Fashion Star" is a hit with the retailers it plugs, but not so much with the viewing public. The much-hyped premiere drew just 4.6 million prime-time viewers, but sales of the night's winning fashions soared.

Spanish fast-fashion brand Zara has opened a Fifth Avenue concept store. Located in the Tishman Building, the store is the retailer's largest U.S. outlet. It's located on Fifth Avenue with five display windows.