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High-end cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma has created a successful recipe for multi-channel marketing.

Hot Topic announced plans to implement a cost-reduction plan, which includes the closure of 40 to 50 underperforming stores and the reduction of capital expenditures in 2011 to $20 million, compared to a 2010 budget of about $30 million to $32 million. The store closures are slated to be completed by the end of the first fiscal quarter in 2011. Hot Topic has reported sales weakness in recent quarters, which has widened its financial loss. At this time, it is uncertain which stores will close.

As retailers and industry analysts watched online sales rise on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Tealeaf tuned into Twitter to see if conversations stayed merry and bright or if consumers' online shopping experiences turned them into grinches.

Fortunoff is making a comeback with an online luxury jewelry site. The chain, which was known for its fine jewelry, home furnishings and outdoor furniture, closed its brick-and-mortar stores after filing for bankruptcy.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Wal-Mart Stores' appeal of a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of female workers.

Sports Authority offered $500 gift cards as part of a location-based Black Friday promotion, and succeeded in boosting store foot traffic and increasing its number of Foursquare followers from 400 to nearly 4,500.

Online shopping is set to reach an annual peak in the U.K. today as Britons splurge on Christmas gifts from “Toy Story 3” DVDs to Apple iPads, according to trade organization Interactive Media in Retail Group.

CVS Caremark announced that former Wal-Mart North executive Hank Mullany will succeed Larry Merlo as president of CVS/pharmacy. The move is part of the corporate succession plan announced last May in which Tom Ryan will retire as CEO prior to the next annual meeting and Merlo will step up as CEO.

Big Lots reported net income of $17.7 million, or 23 cents per diluted share for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 ended Oct. 30. This compares with net income of $30.3 million, or 37 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2009.