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Staples announced last week the launch of its new online platform that will better connect suppliers and customers. Staples Exchange is an option that enables vendors to sell their products directly through the company's e-commerce channels, according to a company news release. Because Staples doesn't require its vendors to use a third party to sell on Staples.com, suppliers can upload products and sell directly to customers without extra cost. The option also allows sellers access to real-time alerts and self-service tools for inventory management.

Teen retailer Deb Shops has filed for bankruptcy protection and is taking steps to liquidate if it can't find a buyer, according to court documents filed Thursday. This is the second time the Philadelphia-based business, which operates 295 stores, has sought bankruptcy protection. The company also filed for Chapter 11 in 2011. Court documents say Deb Shops has about $90.5 million in assets and $120.1 million in liabilities. The latest revenue figures for the company show sales of about $205 million as of Nov. 1, 10 percent less than last year.

Delia's the struggling clothing chain that caters to teenage girls, said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and liquidate all merchandise after efforts to raise financing or find a buyer foundered. Delia's will seek bankruptcy protection in the "very near term," according to a statement from the New York-based company today. The retailer has entered into an agreement with Hilco Merchant Resources LLC and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC, to dispose of assets, including fixtures and equipment. The company has reported a loss in each of its last fiscal five years.

Aeropostale is picking up its pace of store closings, just in time for the holiday shopping season. The troubled clothing retailer announced late Wednesday that it plans to close 75 of its stores in its fiscal fourth quarter, which runs from November through January. Even stores slated for January closings are likely to go through store closing sales with limited inventories rather than the typical holiday promotions before Christmas. The company didn't say how many jobs would be lost with this next round of closings.

To walk into an Anthropologie store is to experience another state of consciousness. You've never been the type to own a Peruvian-style poncho, and yet, once you spot one artfully displayed on a mannequin, you suddenly imagine yourself swaddled in it while frolicking with alpacas on a hazy hilltop. You don't typically purchase girly kitchen gear, but one look at the brand's collection of ruffled aprons, whimsical doorknobs, and mismatched teacups

Anyone hoping to survive winter the quintessentially Boston way may be without one key item this shopping season — L.L.Bean's signature bean boots. Between 60,000-100,000 people have placed orders for the boots that won't be delivered until after the holidays, according to L.L.Bean Spokesperson Carolyn Beem. In all, the company said it anticipates selling "in the range" of 450,000 pairs of bean boots this year, a significant increase over last year. Why the increase in sales? Well, blame teens and millennials. "Younger people are buying them," Beem said. "They're all over college campuses and high schools."

Best Buy said on Thursday it will sell its struggling China business, Five Star, to domestic real estate firm Zhejiang Jiayuan Group in order to focus on its North American operations. The world's largest consumer electronics chain didn't disclose financial terms of the sale of the 184-store network, announced in a statement. Best Buy has struggled to fend off Chinese rivals in a crowded market, as other U.S. firms have complained that operating in the country has become more of a challenge.

Macy's holiday season has kicked off with its stores filled with the normal cold weather apparel for kids and knee-high women's boots. But the department store retailer has several firsts in the mix this year designed to boost sales — including new pickup and same-day delivery programs, along with an eye toward more unique vendor shops in 2015. 

What do you do with an empty 32-story glass-and-steel monument that was supposed to be Memphis’ answer to the Eiffel Tower or the Gateway Arch? That riddle has now been solved: The Pyramid, once a troubled arena for basketball and concerts, will be reborn as a hunting and fishing superstore. The much-maligned building, which once served as the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the N.B.A. and the University of Memphis basketball program, is scheduled to officially reopen in late April or early May as an outpost of the Bass Pro Shops empire.

After what most would consider a brutal holiday shopping season last year thanks to a well-publicized data breach, Target is rebounding with a slew of mobile and digital investments aimed at driving foot traffic. Target is the latest brand to partner with Google's Art Copy & Code program, which aims to reinvent digital advertising for iconic brands such as Nike. For Target's holiday campaign, Google helped create a mobile website with six mini-games. The campaign was created by creative agency 72andSunny with Psyop and Stinkdigital as the production partners.