aggregatedcontent

(Adds analyst comment and details on Wal-Mart Stores) NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A major snowstorm that swept up the U.S. East Coast forced some retailers to close stores and put a damper on post-Christmas shopping.

Scott Krugman, VP of the National Retail Federation, and Hitha Prabhakar of the Style File Group discuss this year's holiday retail winners and losers.

Robin Lewis, co-author of "The New Rules of Retail," tells CNBC what the post-Christmas blizzard means for the retail sector.

Online grocer FreshDirect Inc. hopes to raise as much as $200 million to enter the Washington and Baltimore markets, according to a Bloomberg News report, which said that the Long Island City, N.Y.-based company is working Deutsche Bank AG to procure funds. The bank has declined comment, and FreshDirect has denied a partnership with Deutsche Bank. The grocer now operates in the five boroughs of New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. CEO Richard Braddock told Bloomberg News in July that FreshDirect might pursue an initial public offering to help fund its growth. “FreshDirect has been experiencing

The $75.5 million deal roughly doubles the company's in-store kiosk efforts. Plano, Texas-based Rent-A-Center Inc. agreed to acquire The Rental Store, paying $75.5 million with cash on hand to assume control of the business and pay off all of its existing debt. The Rental Store will bolster the buyer's RAC Acceptance initiative, the store-within-a store kiosk model that has been a focus of Rent-A-Center management. Rent-A-Center, ahead of the deal, had more than 150 RAC Acceptance kiosks located within retailers such as Ashley Furniture, Value City Furniture and others. The company has projected that it could add as many

New York-based Stone Source recently announced that Michael O’Connor and Mark Muus have joined the company as director of operations and regional sales manager of the West Coast, respectively. In his new role, O’Connor will be responsible for all aspects of Stone Source’s operations, which has showrooms throughout the country and warehouses in New Jersey, Chicago and Los Angeles. In his new role, Muus will assume responsibility for sales management throughout the West Coast. SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS | REPRINTS DDI's RetailDesignDiva blog is dedicated to retail design issues, opinions and frustrations

Greensboro, N.C.-based VF Corp. has signed an agreement to acquire the trademarks and intellectual property of Los Angeles-based fashion denim company Rock & Republic for $57 million in cash, according to WWD.com. Rock & Republic fell into bankruptcy earlier this year. According to the terms of the deal, VF Corp. will purchase the Rock & Republic brand name, but not its retail stores or business operations. The deal, expected to close in spring 2011, is subject to bankruptcy court approval. Rock & Republic will add to VF Corp.'s portfolio of brands, which includes 7 For All Mankind, John Varvatos,

The final shopping weekend before Christmas reached $900 million in retail ecommerce spending, representing a strong 17-percent growth rate versus last year. For the holiday season-to-date, $28.36 billion has been spent online, marking a 12-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. ComScorechairman Gian Fulgoni said, "Although there are still nearly two weeks remaining before the end of the year, holiday spending is inching very close to the total for the entire 2009 holiday season, a sign of just how much the online retail landscape has improved in the past year."

British fashion brand Kennett is set for international retail expansion in 2011 thanks to a number of new distribution deals with European partners. The Kennett brand has attracted global praise and interest for its range of rare cufflinks and have since developed a range of Kennett Watches.  

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company announced that 2010 holiday sales are up more than 20 percent over a year ago, due to dramatic revenue increases in its PajamaGram business unit.