Retail Stores

Walmart.com's march to catch Amazon.com in e-commerce and integrate online and offline offerings is entering some new fronts and generating sometimes surprising results as the company prepares to launch the latest in a spate of new initiatives — Goodies, a subscription mail order sampling program.

J.C. Penney has asked a New York federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the visual merchandising firm Hudson + Broad over the Plex

Retail Online Integration presents its second annual ranking of the fastest-growing cross-channel retailers based on year-over-year sales. Find out if your company — or one of its competitors — made the list. 

Dick’s Sporting Goods said Thursday that it will debut a specialty running store, True Runner, with the first location opening in the retailer’s home city of Pittsburgh. The high-service concept will cater to running enthusiasts with footwear, apparel and accessories, and is slated to open in summer 2012. "In our continued efforts to explore new ways to serve athletes and build upon Dick's Sporting Goods already deep commitment to the sport in Pittsburgh, we believe that True Runner will provide a top-of-the-line experience to those who enjoy the sport," said Joe Schmidt, president and COO, Dick's Sporting Goods. 

H&M, the retailer known for its affordable and fashionable apparel, will open a temporary store in Miami Beach on Friday. Reports are that the store will remain open until September, when the company plans to open a 22,000 square-foot, two-story store in the Lincoln Theatre, which was formerly home to the New World Symphony.

Talbots has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of the private equity firm Sycamore Partners, the two companies said Thursday. Under the agreement, Sycamore Partners will acquire all the outstanding common stock of Talbots for $2.75 per share in cash. A previous offer from Sycamore Partners had called for $3.05 a share, but then negotiations stalled. In the press release issued Thursday, the companies said that the current transaction is valued at about $369 million when debt is included. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Neiman Marcus is rebranding its contemporary departments within each of the 42 Neiman Marcus stores as Cusp shop-in-shops. Neiman Marcus first launched the Cusp brand in 2006 with two freestanding stores that offered consumers a contemporary assortment including apparel, shoes, handbags and accessories in a boutique environment. The brand has grown over time and now includes a total of six Cusp stores and Cusp.com. 

Ashley Furniture Industries plans to open about 50 bedding stores under the Zzz's By Ashley banner, according to Furniture Today. The sleep shops will average about 4,500 square feet each, and will offer a wide selection of mattresses and sleep accessories. “I think we can open several thousand in the next 10 years,” Ben Thorud, the Ashley executive who is heading the new initiative, told Furniture Today. 

Saying his goals are to "shrink the company's physical footprint and substantially reduce our cost structure," Best Buy interim CEO Mike Mikan provided details about the struggling retailer's plans to reduce costs by $800 million over the next three years. Mikan and his team are in the process of creating a turnaround blueprint designed to use IT, customer services and predictive analytics to more closely connect Best Buy to consumers. During Q1 of fiscal 2013, which ended May 5, 2012, the retailer closed 41 of the 50 underperforming big-box stores.

Clothing based on the 1960s “Mad Men” styles of Don Draper and Peggy Olson helped Banana Republic post its best first-quarter sales ever this year.