Mergers & Acquisitions

Two of the hottest trends in retail — the rise of value shopping and the use of ambient scent to create a more pleasant atmosphere for customers — are coming together at over 40 stores in southeastern Wisconsin and metropolitan Chicago. But the retailer now rolling out Prolitec, Inc.'s ambient-scenting technologies is neither a fashion tenant at the mall nor a big-box warehouse out on the strip — it's a 92-year-old, nonprofit organization, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc.

Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room, the bio-robotic virtual fitting room for e-commerce apparel websites, is bringing its customer service to internet shoppers in the U.S. for the first time. PARK & BOND, the luxury retail site for men by Gilt Groupe, is the first US-based website to incorporate Fits.me's FitBot mannequins.

Luxottica Group announced that it's entered into an agreement to acquire Erroca, which operates more than 60 sunglass stores in Israel. Over time, the stores will be rebranded under the Sunglass Hut brand. The deal marks Luxottica's entry into the Israeli sunglass specialty store market, although the company already has a solid presence in the country through its wholesale division.

American Apparel announced an extension of its partnership with the global e-commerce brand ASOS. The fashion site, which has more than 3.7 million members, has expanded its buy of American Apparel products based on a 100 percent sellthrough rate of a test buy earlier this year.

In a perfect world, businesses would only be sold when they're healthy and attractive to buyers. Unfortunately this isn't always the case. Trying to market a business as an appealing acquisition while it's in decline can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

Facebook has bought Push Pop Press, the digital book company formed by former Apple staff. In a statement on its website, Push Pop Press said: “We’re taking our publishing technology and everything we’ve learned and are setting off to help design the world’s largest book, Facebook.”

Google has bought The Dealmap, expanding further into a potentially lucrative daily-deals market now dominated by the likes of Groupon and LivingSocial. Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.

Kellwood announced its acquisition of Zobha, a high-performance yoga/fitness apparel and accessories company, according to Michael Kramer, president and CEO of Kellwood. Zobha is the first activewear business to join Kellwood's growing portfolio. Zobha, based out of Mill Valley, Calif., designs for individuals who lead active lifestyles and want clothing that is both functional and stylish.

Leslie's Poolmart announced its entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain business assets of Jasper's Clear Pool Wholesale. The acquisition is expected to significantly expand Jasper's and Leslie's commercial business segments in Arizona. Closing of the transaction, anticipated in August 2011, is subject to certain closing conditions.

Aaron’s Inc. has acquired all 30 of the stores owned and operated by Crusader Rent to Own. Crusader Rent to Own has stores in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Aaron’s sells and offers rent-to-own programs for residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories. In the coming months, 29 of Crusader’s locations will be converted to HomeSmart stores. These stores offer weekly payment lease agreements for products similar to those Aaron’s sells.