Eddie Bauer

Retail Online Integration's fifth annual list of the leading women executives in omnichannel retail features some of the brightest minds in the industry. This year's nominees were chosen for being in a top-level position within an omnichannel retail organization, along with several other criteria, including their scope of responsibility, achievements within their own companies, and their involvement within the retail industry. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the career paths of some of today's leading retail experts, as well as find out what they believe will be the top tip for omnichannel retail success in 2015.

As consumers go about their holiday shopping this year, they might take notice of the growing number of pop-up stores available to them. Brands are increasingly turning to the temporary retail spaces as an outlet to sell holiday or seasonal merchandise that doesn't warrant being stocked in a store 12 months a year. From big-name retail brands such as Amazon.com (yes, that Amazon!) and Eddie Bauer to smaller local (i.e., mom and pop) stores, it seems as if everyone is jumping on the pop-up bandwagon this holiday season.

Men's Wearhouse agreed on Tuesday to buy its rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers for $65 a share in cash, ending months of hostilities between the two retailers. The companies and their advisers worked through the weekend and finally agreed on a deal that values Jos. A. Bank at

Men's Wearhouse agreed on Tuesday to buy its rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers for $65 a share in cash, ending months of hostilities between the two retailers. The companies and their advisers worked through the weekend and finally agreed on a deal that values Jos. A. Bank at

Jos. A. Bank agreed to meet with Men's Wearhouse to discuss a potential merger after rejecting a sweetened $1.78 billion bid from the fellow menswear chain. The current Men's Wearhouse proposal is inadequate and not in the interests of investors, Hampstead, Md.-based Jos. A. Bank said yesterday in a statement. It reiterated that its separate deal to buy Eddie Bauer — an agreement reached earlier this month — would create significant value for shareholders.

Eminence Capital LLC, a shareholder that's suing Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. for rejecting a $1.6 billion takeover bid from rival Men's Wearhouse, accused the men's retailer Tuesday of resorting to "desperate tactics" to protect management jobs by planning to buy outdoor clothing retailer Eddie Bauer. In a letter to Bank's board, Eminence, a New York hedge fund that owns a 10 percent stake in Men's Wearhouse and about 5 percent of Bank's stock, called the $825 million cash-and-stock Bauer deal "a poor strategic decision for Jos. A. Bank at a price that's excessive and almost surely destroys shareholder value."

Jos. A. Bank is buying the parent company of Eddie Bauer in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $825 million that will help strengthen its menswear business and diversify its offerings. The deal comes as Jos. A. Bank is being pursued by rival Men's Wearhouse. Shares of Jos. A. Bank fell more than 3 percent in Friday premarket trading as investors may believe the Eddie Bauer deal makes a transaction with Men's Wearhouse less likely. Men's Wearhouse shares fell almost 9 percent ahead of the market opening.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, which told Men's Wearhouse it won't enter buyout talks, has been looking at other acquisitions, including retailer Eddie Bauer, people familiar with the matter said. Jos. A. Bank sent a letter Sunday telling Men's Wearhouse that a $57.50-a-share bid undervalues the company and that managers see no reason to enter negotiations. Meanwhile, Jos. A. Bank has held preliminary talks to acquire outdoor clothing retailer Eddie Bauer, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

E-commerce retailer One Kings Lane is one of the first flash-sale sites to partner with a digital catalog company — in this case, Catalog Spree — to let shoppers browse on both the iPad and web. This is also Catalog Spree's first deal with a nontraditional retailer, the company says. Typically, the startup works with brands and retailers like Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, West Elm, Macy's, Patagonia and hundreds of others, aggregating and organizing their content into one app.

Just in time for holiday shopping to start, Google has made its stable of retail catalogs available for browsing on the web. It was just over a year ago that the company introduced Google Catalogs for iPad, giving users a way to shop at popular retailers directly from their tablet. An Android app followed. The company is now bringing that experience to the web, offering more than 300 catalogs including Williams-Sonoma, J.Crew and Eddie Bauer. Users can browse alphabetically or by category. Inside a catalog, clicking "view details" on items will take you to the retailer's site to make a purchase.