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Belk, a 305-unit department store chain, has embarked on a three-year, $150 million IT transformation designed to enhance the retailer's business capabilities and performance.

J. Crew says it will be taken private in a $3 billion deal with two investment firms, including its former parent TPG Capital.

Footwear discount retailer DSW Inc.'s fiscal third-quarter earnings rose by one-third on higher sales. The company again raised its current-year forecast, now projecting earnings of $2.30 to $2.40 a share on same-store sales growth of about 12 percent.

Technology upgrades that include website enhancements and the addition of WiFi capabilities in stores were part of $69 million Nordstrom invested in retail operations during the third quarter.

For over two decades, Americans bought big, bought more and stocked up. They were confident that bulk shopping, often on credit, provided the best value for their money. But the long recession — with its high unemployment, plummeting home values and depleted savings accounts — altered the way many people think about the future.

In addition to expanding online sales and opening more boutiques, the new CEO of Betsey Johnson LLC, Susan Falk, says she plans to expand the range of the label's dresses, which she feels have been looking too young and "a little too short."

Hot Topic Inc. posted a lower quarterly profit, hurt by lower sales and gross margin, and the retailer said it would close stores and cut jobs to lower costs. Hot Topic, which has mostly underperformed its peers over the past few quarters as it struggled with an unappealing merchandise mix, will reduce about 14 percent of its home office and field management positions and close 40-50 underperforming stores.

Wal-Mart reported a 9.3 percent increase in profit for its fiscal third quarter on Tuesday, but said an important measure of U.S. sales fell as customers of the retail giant continue to watch their spending.

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