Sears Holdings Corp. said it signed a long-term lease with fast-fashion apparel chain Forever 21 to occupy about 43,000 square feet of a Sears department store in an upscale mall, located in Costa Mesa, Calif.

The deal, the first of its kind, for Hoffman Estates-based Sears, gives the struggling retailer a template to make more productive use of its mall stores, many of which anchor premium shopping centers but lag the retail industry in sales per square foot. Get the full story »