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Just as recession battered consumers are trickling back to malls, clothes makers in the U.S. face a tough choice. Squeezed by ballooning raw material, labor and freight costs, manufacturers are fretting they might have to raise prices in fragile markets to maintain margins.

Describing its stock as 'significantly undervalued,' Barnes & Noble (B&N) last week essentially put itself up for sale. As e-books erode its brick & mortar business, pressure from shareholder activists were said to have prompted the move. What do you make of the struggle for control of Barnes & Noble? REGISTRATION ONLY TAKES A MINUTE! To read the complete content of this article and participate in the discussion, click the button below and sign up now! Existing subscribers, use the login below. Already registered? Log in here: Handle: Remember my login. Forgot your handle or password? Click here. FREE

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES A Toys 'R' Us unit plans to raise about $1 billion through secured-term loans and the sale of senior secured notes to institutional investors in refinancing a similar amount of debt. It joins a host of companies looking to take advantage of the historically low interest-rate environment to cut interest on current borrowings. The toy-store chain was bought in 2005 by Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) and private-equity firms Bain Capital LLC and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for $6.6 billion and has remained heavily in debt from the buyout. But as of May

Stern Pinball Inc., Stern Pinball, pinball story, pinball supplies, pinball accessories, pinball novelties, pinball fan, coin-op machines MELROSE PARK, IL -- Stern Pinball Inc. has unveiled an "e-store" designed for devotees of flipper games. The online outlet offers a variety of Stern-branded clothing and accessories, including t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, stickers and more. It's accessible by clicking the new "Shop The Stern Store" button at sternpinball.com. Dealers and distributors desiring to add Stern Pinball accessories to their lines can email jody.dankberg@sternpinball.com for wholesale pricing, and to place orders. Stern, which claims to be "the only maker of real pinball games

Belk said it has promoted Kathryn Bufano to president and chief merchandising officer, according to a report by the Charlotte Business Journal. Bufano fills a role previously held by McKay Belk, who will be vice chairman of the retail chain.Bufano has been president of merchandising and marketing since she joined Belk in early 2008. She previously was CEO of the Vanity Shops chain and held executive-level merchandising positions at Sears Roebuck and Co., The Dress Barn, Macy’s East and Lord & Taylor.She will continue to report to Tim Belk, chairman and CEO.

In an attempt to win over fashionable young women, J.C. Penney Co. is going to try running with a faster crowd. This week, the Plano, Texas-based retailer unveiled an unconventional collaboration with Mango MNG Holding SL, the closely-held Barcelona chain known for whipping up cutting edge looks that go from design studio to store shelves in as little as four weeks.

) Specialty bike retailer Performance Bicycle said Tuesday it has appointed John Buleza as VP direct marketing. Buleza will be responsible for helping to drive the company’s growth through the web, a revitalized catalog, e-mail marketing, direct mail and search marketing. Most recently, he served as director of marketing for Current USA, where he managed marketing efforts for consumer brands Lillian Vernon, Current and Colorful Images. Prior to that, Buleza was senior marketing director for Ross-Simmons, where he helped manage the web and retail marketing teams. Performance Bicycle operates more than 90 nationwide stores.

Demandware announced that Nine West Footwear Corp., a division of Jones Apparel Group, has launched a new mobile storefront using Demandware's mobile commerce application.Nine West is leveraging its existing Demandware eCommerce implementation to quickly and easily launch a feature-rich mobile commerce site. The single, unified environment between the mobile storefront and the e-commerce website will make it easy for Nine West merchants to manage the experiences of customers across digital channels.“By using Demandware's mobile commerce application, we are delivering a full-featured, customizable mobile storefront that more readily meets the needs of our on-the-go customers,” said Ron Offir, Nine West

ComScore released estimates for second quarter retail ecommerce sales that showed online retail spending reached $32.9 billion for the quarter, up 9 percent versus year ago. This growth rate represented the third consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth following a year of flat or negative growth rates. ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said, "We remain cautiously optimistic heading into the second half of the year, but we will be keeping a close eye on unemployment rates, which along with potential uncertainty in the stock market could limit growth in e-commerce spending in the near term." Among the top-performing online product

NEW YORK, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- NEW teen fashion and accessory brand, Bold Girlz is thrilled to announce the launch of its online store, BoldGirlz.com, featuring on-trend and priced right apparel and accessories. Each month, Bold Girlz will select a different non-profit to receive a percentage of sales. For the month of August, the non-profit One is Greater Than None has been chosen and will be spotlighted on the site. "The girls who founded One is Greater Than None (1>0) have spoken to thousands of teenagers at conferences, schools and summits, encouraging them to make a difference globally, nationally