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The Sportsman's Guide, a premier sporting goods brand, announced today its ongoing commitment to innovation, product selection and convenience with the recent launch of its iPhone and iPad applications, as well as its mobile site.

AuctionBytes has learned that Infopia, an ecommerce solution for eBay and online retailers, has sold its ecommerce-platform assets to Versata. Scott Buoy will head the new company for Versata, which will continue to market the Infopia Transact eCommerce platform. Infopia laid off most of its employees on Thursday, telling them they would be re-hired by the new company. The transaction was an asset sale - Versata has acquired the Transact ecommerce platform and the brand name Infopia. The parent company will change its name and will continue to market the Enterprise eCommerce Analytics product with a software development team

Wal-Mart Stores said Friday it will end its profit-sharing contributions in February, replacing them with matches to employee 401(k) retirement plans to bring down benefits costs.According to a report by Bloomberg, the retailer said it will match contributions up to 6% of eligible employees’ pay. Previously, Wal-Mart automatically put up to 4% of pay into the profit-sharing plan.

Same-store retail sales for September were up 2.8 percent compared to a gain of 0.9 percent for September 2009, according to Kantar Retail. Last month's sales were slightly below August's increase of 3.4 percent. Among the 31 retailers reporting monthly sales, department stores posted better than average results over last year with apparel and accessory stores following close to the average gain. Meanwhile, food, drug and mass retailers lagged slightly. Zumiez reported the largest gain among all the retailers posting a 17 percent increase, followed by Abercrombie & Fitch at a 13 percent increase and Limited Brands at a

A Friday regulatory filing revealed that Pershing Square Capital Management, an activist hedge fund firm run by Bill Ackman, has taken a 16.5% stake of J.C. Penney Co. According to the New York Times, the move signals an intent by Ackman to shake up the retailer, as the filing came in a 13D form, which is used by activist investors to indicate an interest in effecting some sort of change. The hedge fund manager had previously invested in Borders Group and Target.

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As a small business owner, Nancy Rhodes is always looking for a bargain. So with a commercial real estate crisis gripping her hometown of Phoenix, she took advantage of desperate landlords to open a temporary store with a short-term lease and a steep discount on rent.

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