American Apparel will expand overseas in department stores. The troubled retail chain has deals to expand into premium department stores in Europe. UK department store Selfridge's will add the brand to as many as half a dozen stores in the coming year.

Galeries Lafayette in France has expanded distribution to a suburban location, with plans for several more. American Apparel is cutting a similar deal with Bloomingdale's in the US. American Apparel's department-store deals are "a way for the company to expand its business without spending a lot of capital," according to a person briefed on the plans. Read the whole story...

Beiersdorf's Nivea skin care brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a five-day pop-up experience this week, The Nivea 100 Year House, in Grand Central Terminal. Designed like a life-sized tin of Nivea creme, the store was launched with TV personality Giuliana Rancic. Read the whole story...

Crafts retailer Michaels is using a mobile-optimized site application and mobile coupons to drive in-store traffic. The company is also using QR codes and SMS, part of a response to hearing consumers' needs for easier, on-the-go tools that can be used in stores.

"Our key strategy was to give customers the opportunity to engage with Michaels whenever and wherever they choose," said Anthony Price, senior director of digital marketing and public relations for Michaels. Read the whole story...

Here come 3-D phones that do not require 3-D glasses. HTC is selling one, the HTC Evo 3-D, in partnership with Sprint. Also coming is one from LG, which intends to begin a big marketing campaign on Monday in New York for the Thrill 4G, to be sold in partnership with AT&T.

The campaign, which will carry the theme "Your World Comes Alive," is to start with a concert by the band Jane's Addiction at 9 p.m. at Terminal 5 on the Far West Side. Concertgoers will be encouraged to use more than 200 of the new phones to shoot 3-D video of the concert. LG will combine and edit the video to produce a 60-minute documentary it refers to as "the world's first 3-D user-generated concert." Read the whole story...

There's a vine that grows in Costa Rica that climbs a tree, embraces it, and surrounds it until nothing is left but the vine itself. While Fiat SpA, with owns 53.5% of Chrysler has certainly created a latticework of support for the Detroit automaker, it isn't going to metabolize it, though the relationship is evolving. Just how that is happening and where it's going will likely be revealed by the CEO of both companies, Sergio Marchionne, this week.

He will explain the framework of the company the two automakers are creating as he announces a new, integrated management. Fiat has already begun to consolidate the U.S. automaker's earnings results in its financial statements, although the companies are issuing separate second-quarter reports today.

A full merger is not expected until next year, per a source, but the two carmakers are expected to start operating as one under their new management structure. Chrysler has vastly improved vehicle quality since brining in Fiat's World-Class Manufacturing System, including at its Toledo manufacturing complex. "The Toledo facility has changed almost overnight," said Jay Baron, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. "They've done an incredible job merging these two cultures." Read the whole story...

Fishermen from Alaska are some of the people in a new Red Lobster campaign, "Sea food differently." The campaign features workers along the supply chain. The effort launched this week with two commercials, a revised website and a Facebook fan page.

They feature Jon Forsythe, who fishes for crabs in Alaska, and Charles Himple, a grill cook at the Red Lobster restaurant in the Bronx. A forthcoming ad will feature Annie Sessler, who designed the artwork for menus at the Darden Restaurants' seafood chain. The campaign also reflects a greater commitment to social media. The effort, via Grey New York, carries an estimated $110 million to $115 million price tag. Read the whole story...