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Neiman Marcus Group has named Michael R. Kingston senior vice president and chief information officer, marking the luxury retailer’s second high-level appointment of the week.Kingston...

Not only does the iPad dominate the tablet market, but a new study claims that 90 percent of all mobile revenue last month was generated from Apple's popular device. Personalization vendor RichRelevance studied 75 retail sites and found that 68 percent of mobile shoppers who accessed retail websites used iPads to do so. iPad users were more likely to buy something when they got there, too. Conversion rates with the iPad were 1.5 percent, nearly triple the 0.57 percent rate for other mobile devices. Shoppers who used iPads averaged $52.66 per item, while other mobile users spent $23.80.

/PRNewswire/ -- Coty Inc., a leading global beauty company, today announced that it has sent a letter to Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP). Coty also announced that it has accepted an invitation from AllianceBernstein to discuss its proposal and answer questions from the investment community today at 10:00 AM ET. Coty is providing a live webcast of that conversation at coty.pressnews.net/. A replay of the webcast will be available beginning later today at coty.pressnews.net/. A copy of the letter sent to Avon follows below: April 16, 2012Andrea Jung, Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerAvon Products, Inc. 1345 Avenue of the

Dollar General has pledged its support of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative, which promotes private sector employment for members of the military community. This commitment is a continuation of the company’s efforts to extend job opportunities to those who have served or are serving our country, the company said. In 2011 alone, Dollar General hired more than 3,500 veterans, guardsmen and reservists. The company’s coast-to-coast network of 10,000 stores and 11 distribution centers provides a career path to begin and grow their careers. 

Struggling big-box retailer Best Buy yesterday released a list of 42 store closures. Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy announced a round of 50 store closures in late March, but at that time didn't identify the stores that would close. Since then, it's closed two stores (one in Kansas City, Mo. and one in Scottsdale, Ariz.) and has notified five Twin Cities stores and one San Antonio store that they'll close later this year. 

Sales at U.S. retailers rose sharply for the third straight month in March, as Americans continued to weather the hike in gasoline prices and splurged on buying new cars and renovating their homes. Retail sales jumped 0.8 percent in March, after advancing 1 percent in February, Commerce Department figures showed Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a much smaller gain of 0.3 percent. Sales excluding the auto sector also rose 0.8 percent last month, after having been up 0.9 percent in February and 1.2 percent in January. 

New York -- Retailers’ growth plans are running about 5% ahead of year-ago projections, according to ChainLinks Retail Advisors’ Spring 2012 Retailer and Restaurant Expansion Guide. “Demand is being driven by discounters, grocery store chains, off-price apparel retailers, fast-food and fast-casual dining concepts,” said Garrick Brown, national retail research director, ChainLinks, one of the leading retail real estate advisory services organization in North America. “Growth from those players will help to lower vacancy for most shopping center types.” According to the report, some of the most active retailers currently include: Subway: Hoping to open as many as 2,500 stores

Hingham, Mass. -- Talbots Inc.’s fourth-quarter loss widened to $53.2 million for the period ended Jan. 28, not as bad as analysts expected, compared to a loss of $2.8 million in the year ago. Its results were pressured by restructuring and executive retirement costs, as well as increased mark-downs and promotions. The chain also forecast first-quarter revenue that missed analysts' expectations. Revenue for the quarter slipped 1% to $289.4 million from $292.6 million, but beat Wall Street's estimate of $267.9 million. Same-store sales were flat. “Our fourth quarter performance reflects an aggressive promotional and markdown strategy in a

Wal-Mart will expand its solar commitment in Colorado, with six SolarCity projects planned for the state. The projects will include the company’s 100th solar power installation in the United States and will help it to achieve its long-term goal of using 100 percent renewable energy for all of its facilities. The installations, totaling two megawatts on three stores in Westminster and one each in Lakewood, Highlands Ranch and Lafayette, also will help Colorado meet its renewable energy goals. Wal-Mart's SolarCity projects in Colorado are expected to generate approximately 3 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy per year.