Retail Stores

Dish Network Corp plans to keep open more than 90 percent of the Blockbuster stores it acquired in its $320 million deal for the video rental chain. Dish, the second largest U.S. satellite TV company, said it reached agreements with property owners allowing it to continue running more than 1,500 stores. In addition, it will retain more than 15,000 employees. Dish Network won Blockbuster in an April bankruptcy auction, further broadening its business beyond satellite TV and setting up a possible showdown with Netflix.

Major retailers including Wal-Mart, Walgreens and SUPERVALU are teaming up with Michelle Obama to open or expand a total of 1,500 stores in communities that are designated as "food deserts," or have limited access to nutritious food. The pledges, secured by the First Lady's Partnership for a Healthier America, will aid the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which aims to financially assist stores that open in areas where finding affordable health food can be difficult.

Borders Group's liquidation plan is set to proceed after receiving approval from a bankruptcy judge. A judge on Thursday approved the 40-year-old booksellers’ plan to appoint liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group to sell off its assets. Going-out-of-business sales are set to begin at some stores Friday. About 30 to 35 of the stores could be sold to rival chain Books-a-Million Inc., but the two companies are still in talks. Books-A-Million, based in Birmingham, Ala., will become the second largest U.S. bookseller after Borders liquidates.

Products get knocked off all the time — designer bags, Oscar-night dresses, watches. But entire stores? That's something new. Which is why the internet is going crazy over a blogger's report that three fake Apple stores have popped up in her neighborhood in Kunming, China.

eBay Inc.'s PayPal online payment service and marketplaces business grew swiftly during the second quarter, helping its results beat analyst expectations, although charges from its recent purchase of retail website operator GSI Commerce cut its profit. For the quarter that ended June 30, eBay said it earned $283.4 million, or 22 cents per share, down 31 percent from $412 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.

A new study titled power2thewomen2.0: the Shopping Trend Revolution Continues looks into the buying power of women and explores the similarities and differences in the shopping behaviors of Gen X, Gen Y and Baby Boomer women and the media channels that influence their buying decisions.

As they prepare for their annual back-to-school shopping trip, parents this year will make children scour their closets before agreeing to buy any new jeans, pencils or backpacks. According to the National Retail Federation's 2011 Back-to-School survey conducted by BIGresearch, families with children in grades K-12 will spend an average of $603.63 on apparel, school supplies and electronics, within a few dollars of last year’s $606.40 average. Total spending on grades K-12 is expected to reach $22.8 billion.

Forrester Research Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru was on hand at the Retail Email Exchange symposium in San Diego last month to offer best practices for four current trends in the e-commerce space. Looking to debunk conventional wisdom, Mulpuru advised that things often turn out to be different than they initially appear. With that in mind, here are the four trends that Mulpuru addressed:

Costco Wholesale hasn't given up on the idea of selling liquor in Washington. Having lost last year at the polls, the country's third-largest retailer is back with another initiative for voters to consider. Initiative 1183, which is likely to be on the ballot this fall, resembles last year's effort in that it would push the state out of the liquor business, forcing it to auction off its stores and distribution center.

Jennifer Lopez's representatives confirmed the singer/actress remains committed to launching a clothing line at Kohl's with soon-to-be ex-husband Marc Anthony. Lopez's publicist Mark Young said the launch in September "will proceed as planned." Young called the Lopez line "distinctive" and said it represents style in an accessible way.