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Office-supply chains Staples and Office Depot are in advanced talks to merge, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The price and structure of the proposed deal couldn't be learned and there's no guarantee a deal will be reached, the newspaper reported. Staples has a market value of about $11 billion, while Office Depot has a market value of about $4.1 billion. Last month, activist investor Starboard Value LP called for the two companies to merge, saying a combined entity would lead to greater savings.

The New York State attorney general's office accused four major retailers on Monday of selling fraudulent and potentially dangerous herbal supplements and demanded that they remove the products from their shelves. The authorities said they conducted tests on top-selling store brands of herbal supplements at four national retailers — GNC, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart — and found that four out of five of the products did not contain any of the herbs on their labels. 

Federica Marchionni is trading high fashion for flannel and sweaters. She's departing her leadership role at Dolce & Gabbana USA to become the next CEO of Lands’ End. Lands’ End made the announcement Monday, and said its current CEO, Edgar Huber, will resign in about two weeks. He's been on the job for three-and-a-half years and his bio shows a career centered around fashion and makeup. Marchionni is cut from a different cloth: She started in tech before moving to luxury brands as a senior vice president at Ferrari and president of Dolce & Gabbana USA.

The events that will determine RadioShack's future are unfolding quickly. Pressures continued to mount for the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer to file bankruptcy, according to reports Monday. The speculation centers on whether the 94-year-old retailer is preparing to shut down its business or has a chance at a court-supervised reorganization. RadioShack hasn't confirmed that it's closing stores, but the signs are there. The company made no announcements Monday, but its lenders, led by Salus Capital Partners, sent the company a second default notice on its $250 million loan. 

January's proven a dire month for mid-range brands. Over the past few days, Gap not only axed its Piperlime division, it also eliminated Rebekka Bay's role as the brand's creative director. Meanwhile, Kate Spade just announced it would close all Kate Spade Saturday stores. Roughly three weeks ago, C. Wonder confirmed that it, too, was shutting down and immediately started liquidating all locations. This domino effect feels similar to the glut of teen retailers that 

Brands tried all sorts of approaches in their ads for Super Bowl XLIX-uplifting, amusing, awe-inspiring, and yes, even horrifying-but only a handful of spots truly hit that sweet spot where brilliant idea meets flawless execution. Notably, it was a night when many advertisers tried to be not just

Apple hired Angela Ahrendts away from Burberry in 2013 to take its retail stores in a new direction. Now we're getting a better idea of Ahrendts' vision for Apple stores, thanks to a report by 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. Ahrendts has been focusing her energy on China, where Apple is

A redditor wrote an open letter addressed to Victoria's Secret accusing their retail workers of sending women to Lane Bryant for bras. She believes that the employees are discriminating against certain women by not bothering to realize that they have the bras that they need. In her letter, "Kate*" identifies as a Soma lingerie employee. She wrote, "far too often we hear horror stories

According to a survey by the National Retail Federation conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, an estimated 184 million Americans are expected to watch Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday. Among this audience includes consumers who are expected to spend more than $14 billion in relation to Super Bowl XLIX - spending dollars on food, drinks, accessories, apparel, home 

Jones New York, the women's clothing brand owned by Sycamore Partners, said it will seek strategic alternatives and close its outlet stores. Jones New York will also discontinue its wholesale business, according to a statement yesterday. All 127 outlet locations will close throughout 2015. Sycamore Partners agreed to acquire Jones Group Inc., the owner of the Jones New York and Nine West fashion brands, in December 2013 in a deal that valued the retailer at $1.2 billion. The Jones New York brand has struggled in recent years as retailers ramped up their exclusive-label goods to draw shoppers.