Spansion boosts efficiency at # fabsBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe dedicated flash memory maker attributes new testing capabilities to increases in both throughput and yield, specifically for products manufactured at the...

Pillow Named CEO of Tommy Bahama By StaffNew York -Fashion brand house Oxford Industries has named Terry Pillow ceo of the Tommy Bahama Group, effective June #, the date that current ceo and founder Tony Margolis will retire. Pillow...

EU makes DVB-H mobile TV standard across EuropeBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsThe European Commission estimates that by unifying its member states under one standard, it can establish a single market for mobile TV that could...

Soitec: Now is opportune time for China to benefit from SOIBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe semiconductor industry in China is at an opportune time to benefit from the convergence of the technological readiness of foundries...

NexCen Adds Two, Promotes OneBy StaffNew York -Liz Mandracchia and Robin Geisler have joined NexCen Home Studios, owner of the Waverly lifestyle brand, and Anthony Noberini has been promoted.Mandracchia has been named vp, marketing...

Nokia slips in Greenpeace green electronics rankingBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsGreenpeace plans to raise the bar and challenge the industry to take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products in its next ranking.Nokia...

Gottschalks Sees Tough ####By StaffFresno, Calif. -Western regional department store operator Gottschalks anticipates a challenging year ahead, executives said during the retailer's year-end conference call.The company expects to lower...

Retail BriefsStaff New ceo for MervynsStaffMervyns last week named John Goodman president and ceo, effective April #. Previously, Goodman was with Levi Strauss & Co., serving as president and general manager of its Dockers brand,...

Martha Seek Mass Market Partner after KmartBy StaffNew York -Addressing her second analyst conference in as many days, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's chief elaborated on her March ## assertion that the brand would live on in the...

Hollander Promotes Lopez to Division HeadBy StaffBoca Raton, Fla. -Basic bedding supplier Hollander Home Fashions has named Raoul "Yogi" Lopez svp for the down comforter and mattress pad division, replacing Amy Webster, who was recently...

Slumping Dillard's Eyed by InvestorsBy StaffNew York -An affiliate of hedge fund Barington Capital Group will nominate four people for seats on the ##-member board of directors of $#.# billion regional department store chain Dillard's.The...

ADFC Renews Palmer, Hollander Leadership By StaffNew York - The American Down and Feather Council (ADFC) has re-elected to second terms both Stephen Palmer, as chairman, and Jeff Hollander, as vice chair.Palmer is co-president of...

Elpida dives into foundry business with UMCBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsThe DRAM giant will provide its ###-mm wafer manufacturing capacity to UMC, while UMC will contribute IP support and logic technologies to target Japanese...

JCPenney Merges UnitsBy Carole SloanPlano, Texas - JCPenney is combining its retail and direct (catalog and Internet) buying responsibilities effective April #. The retail and direct segments of the business have had separate buying...

Supima Opens NYC Pop-up StoreStaffNew York -Faribault; Springs Global through its Wamsutta brand; and Chopak Mills arel representing the home furnishings business during the run of the Supima pop-up store that opened here for a month...

Intel readies global push for Classmate PCBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsA coming second-generation Classmate PC will be based on the Intel Celeron Mobile processor and will make a global push, expanding the sub-$### laptop's...

Profit Scarce as NexCen Revenues Soar By StaffNew York - Brand management firm NexCen Brands - owner of the Waverly and Bill Blass brands - reported a net loss of $#.# million in ####, its first full year, even as revenues zoomed to...

Westpoint to Cut Expenses in ####By Brent FelgnerNew York -WestPoint International will continue to cut operating and capital expenses in #### as it wrestles with operating losses and a falling top line.Those revenue declines will likely...

Embedding future growthBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsFreescale CTO Lisa Su discusses the future of embedded technologies, differentiation beyond Moore's Law, and the challenges that come with an increasingly sophisticated...

Wamsutta Poised for Disney ResortBy StaffFort Mill, S.C. -Springs Global will provide Wamsutta bedding and bath products in a partnership with Buena Vista, Fla.-based Walt Disney World Resort, making Wamsutta the exclusive bed and bath...

China DominatesMarket BasketHTT STAFF REPORTNew York - The source code has changed.In ####, China - for the first time ever - is the supplier nation of more than half of all the items in the HTT Market Basket.Five years ago,...

Chinni Set to Revive Fortunoff BrandBy Carole SloanUniondale, N.Y. -Stabiliziation and turnaround are the two key immediate challenges for Charles Chinni, newly named chairman and ceo of Fortunoff."Fortunoff is an iconic brand - I've...

Synopsys buys Synplicity for $###MBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorIndustry observers believe the acquisition may have more to do with obtaining Synplicity´s ASIC verification tools as FPGAs have become the primary way of doing...

People BriefsBy StaffCost Plus Extends Feld TermSpecialty retailer Cost Plus World Market has extended the employment contract of president and ceo Barry Feld through October ####, a three-year extension.In addition to a base salary...

Intel, Microsoft establish university-based parallel computing research centersBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorWith an aim of accelerating benefits to consumers and businesses, the technology giants are establishing parallel...

Applied tops VLSI Research ranking of IC equipment suppliersBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe top ## suppliers maintained their trend of growing faster than the total IC manufacturing equipment industry, which increased #%...

STATS ChipPAC offers RF design toolsBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorBy integrating and fabricating passive devices at the silicon wafer level, the semiconductor test and packaging company said it can produce IPDs in both wire...

Power Forward group launches low-power design methodology guideBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe downloadable user guide describes detailed CPF-based methodologies drawn from the collective experience of low-power designers.The...

Linens 'n Things Looks to Trim Costs By StaffClifton, N.J. -Linens 'n Things will focus on cost-cutting this year, looking to shave $## million off overhead as it seeks profitability and positive cash flow.Last week company executives...

Lenox Looks to More Home LicensesBy StaffEden Prairie, Minn. - Lenox, vendor of tabletop, collectible and giftware products under the Lenox, Department ##, Gorham and Dansk brand names, has appointed agency IMC Licensing to help develop...

United Feather & Down Updates Hotel LineBy StaffDes Plaines, Ill. - United Feather & Down, luxury bedding manufacturer and supplier to premier hotels, has released a new hospitality catalog that highlights pillows, comforters, mattress...

Jo-Ann Profits by Niche PursuitBy StaffHudson, Ohio- The decorative fabric and sewing-related businesses can be thanked for helping Jo-Ann Stores enjoy its fourth consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales, the ###-unit chain...

IC Insights: The sky isn´t fallingBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsAcknowledging the US economy has seen better days, IC Insights says that it's no time to panic and tells the industry to hold out for full Q# results before...

IBM develops tiny nanophotonic switch for optical routing between coresBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe move marks another advancement in IBM's quest to develop next-generation high-performance multicore computer chips that...

Mitsubishi boasts multi-crystalline silicon solar cell with ##.#% conversion efficiency rateBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe company also plans a $##.# million investment to expand annual production capacity of photovoltaic...

Home Still a Hit at RossBy StaffPleasanton, Calif. -Breaking a trend seen throughout much of the market in recent months, home was among the top-performing departments during the fourth quarter at Ross Stores, the company reported last...

Former HSN Exec Tapped by ShopNBCBy StaffMinneapolis - Internet- and TV-based luxury retailer ShopNBC has named Rene Aiu president and ceo; she was previously svp of marketing, sales, programming and production at Home Shopping Network...

Sony Blu-ray, Moto Razr among targets of Columbia professor patent-infringement claimsBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsIncluded among the ## companies named in the case are Hitachi, LG Electronics, Nokia, Pioneer, Samsung, Sanyo...

Mentor, AMCC to develop electronic design curriculum for Vietnam universityBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorUnder its higher education program, Mentor will donate more than $## million worth of EDA software and support to help...

Intel fleshes out next-gen multicore processorsBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorThe chip giant detailed its Tukwila, Dunnington, Nahalem, and Larrabee processors.As part of a preview to the April Intel Developer Forum http://www.intel.com/idf...

March Comps Start Soft By StaffNew York -Merchandisers continued to fall short of goals in March, with comparable store sales up #.#% in the second week, for a month-to-date comp gain of #.#% vs. the target of #.#%, the Johnson Redbook...

MIPS names ex-Apple exec as CFOBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsMIPS' new CFO Maury Austin will play an especially important role as the company further integrates Chipidea into its portfolio.MIPS Technologies Inc http://www.mips.com...

Iconix Licenses IHF for St. Mary'sBy StaffNew York - Iconix Brand Group has licensed International Home Fashions (IHF) to produce bedding and blankets under the St. Mary's brand.St. Mary's is currently being reintroduced to the marketplace....

Class ActCarole Sloan Founding Editor-in-chiefIn this chaotic world of business, there are few times that someone or something can be called a "class act."Earlier this month, JCPenney's Steve McKeever, one of the icons of the home textiles...

Home Hurting Stein MartBy Cecile B. CorralJacksonville, Fla. -Stein Mart's home business woes deepened last fall, so much so that the ###-unit mid-tier department store plans to reduce square footage space in the department in order...

Axcelis rejects raised buyout offerBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsThe Axcelis board rejected the $# per share offer, saying it "undervalues Axcelis and is not in the best interests of Axcelis and its shareholders."Despite...

Maffei-Toolan Joins P/KaufmannBy StaffNew York -Pam Maffei-Toolan will become vp of design for P/K Lifestyles, a unit of P/Kaufmann.Maffei-Toolan has worked with P/K as design director for its Waverly fabric license since last year,...

Semi revenue grew less than #% in #### on weak memory market, iSuppli reportsBy Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, NewsThe market research company put blame for the global semiconductor market´s #.#% revenue growth squarely on the memory...

North American semi equipment February book-to-bill shows conservative capex spendingBy Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior EditorManufacturers of semiconductor equipment in North America posted $#.## billion in orders for February on a...

Bon-Ton Boosts Private Label LinesBy Cecile B. CorralYork, Pa.- Happy with last fall's debut of its private label soft home brand Ruff Hewn, department store operator The Bon-Ton Stores will roll out the program to more of its increasingly...