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Borders Group Inc. said Tuesday it will sell its Paperchase Products Ltd. stationery subsidiary to British private equity firm Primary Capital Ltd. for $31 million in order to reduce the retailer’s debt load.The move is Borders latest salvo in its ongoing effort to cut costs and improve profitability since financier Bennett LeBow invested $25 million in the struggling chain in May, becoming the company's largest shareholder, chairman and CEO.Borders said it will continue to buy and carry Paperchase products in its U.S. stores. The book retailer bought a majority interest in U.K.-based Paperchase in 2004 for $24.1 million.It will

With unemployment high and consumer confidence low, retailers are getting more creative to lure wary consumers. Grabbing shoppers from rivals is no easy task, but merchants are making a stab at innovative ways, beyond price cuts and low overhead, to lure consumers. Merchants have little choice now but to boost sales to keep profits up.

— JC Penney launched its back-to-school campaign today, turning to new digital marketing tools to increase its sales for the season. The retailer plans to target teens through 'haul' video blogs, where teens upload their shopping trips and post reviews on products. JC Penney will also broadcast advertisements through Apple’s iAd mobile services. The retailer declared that it has stocked enough inventories for the back-to-school season. JC Penney’s Chief Marketing Officer told Reuters, 'Of the entire year, it's when we talk the most to teens, and teens consume very different media than their parents … Back-to-school draws people to

XPRT Ventures has sued eBay for $3.8 billion, asserting trade secret theft and patent infringement claims with respect to six XPRT patents. XPRT asserts eBay unfairly stole the idea and method of payment used in eBay's PayPal and similar electronic payment systems. An eBay spokesperson told Bloomberg it was reviewing the complaint and believed it was without merit, and intended to defend itself vigorously. The complaint alleges that the Inventors listed on XPRT's patents, George Likourezos and Michael A. Scaturro, shared their patent applications and ideas on how to implement such concepts taught therein with eBay in confidence in

(Adds CEO, analyst's comment, detail.) By Simon Zekaria Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. luxury fashion house Burberry PLC (BRBY.LN) Tuesday said its new fiscal year started strongly as it posted a 27% rise in first-quarter sales.

Sears Holdings and Iconix Brand Group have teamed up to re-launch juniors' brand Bongo this fall at Sears and Kmart stores. The long-term direct-to-retail deal is the third between Iconix and the retailer. The Bongo line for September will include apparel and other lifestyle-related categories. Audrina Patridge of MTV's "The Hills" will serve as spokeswoman for the marketing campaign. "We have experienced the strength and success of working with Sears Holdings with our Joe Boxer and Cannon brands and we are excited to work with John Goodman and his team to roll out Bongo at both Kmart and Sears,"

In the genteel world of luxury, companies long felt that the Web was no place for merchandising exclusive products. And there was a gentlemen’s agreement with department stores not to siphon sales by reaching out directly to wealthy customers. Then, in came the recession, and out went the niceties. Department stores slashed prices on $1,200 handbags, while luxury lines fretted about losing their exclusivity. Now, come September, marcjacobs.com is going retail, 10 years after most brands opened Web showrooms.

Walmart's strategy is evolving, and would have evolved regardless of what managers are in place. "Taking merchandise out of the Action Alley and providing clear sight lines has been a successful strategy," Spokesman David Tovar said in an e-mail, but added, "We are constantly listening to our customers and some have told us they liked seeing the rollbacks on merchandise in the aisles. .... We have given more autonomy to our store managers to make the decisions on what is right for their customers."

- Global | Retail By Andre Paine, London Best Buy Europe has appointed Andrew Harrison as COO for Best Buy Europe. Harrison is CEO U.K. and Europe of the Carphone Warehouse. He will continue to lead the Carphone Warehouse and the Phone House retail operations across nine European countries and will assume additional responsibilities for Best Buy. Scott Wheway, CEO, commenting on the appointment said, "Our first three Best Buy stores have all opened with tremendous success and have underlined the important shift in the way customers shop and interact with the "Connected World". Best Buy said Antoniadis decided

Location-based mobile alerts have led a third of women 18 to 34 to visit a store, according to a recent survey. And 27 percent of that demographic said that mobile messages have impacted their decision to buy in a physical store. The poll, conducted from May 17 to May 19, surveyed 2,046 U.S. adults 18 and older, including 1,710 who own a cell phone and/or a smartphone. It was conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by location-based ad company Placecast. It studied opt-in mobile marketing messages only.