Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
Barnes & Noble, the world’s largest specialty bookseller, said it was reviewing a possible sale as its board believes its shares are significantly undervalued. Barnes & Noble shares soared 21 percent after the company announced formation of a special committee of four independent directors to consider all options for increasing shareholder value.
Shareholder Leonard Riggio has told the board he would consider being part of a wider investor group that could buy the company. Get the full story »
The word “uncommon” has become a little too common for two Web sites — www.getuncommon.com and www.uncommongoods.com — who are locked in a legal battle over their namesakes. Get the full story »
Discounter Kmart Corp. is touting more exclusive brands and stepping up its mobile marketing efforts to win over cautious U.S. shoppers in what’s shaping up to be a highly competitive back-to-school season.
The unit of Sears Holdings Corp., sporting everything from embellished jeans to candy-colored staplers this season, will offer several new exclusive brands, including apparel lines “Dream Out Loud with Selena Gomez,” “Bongo” and “Rebecca Bonbon” as it takes on rivals like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp. Get the full story »
Office Max Inc.’s stock dropped 12 percent in morning trading following news that the company was expecting lower-than-forecast sales for the third quarter.
The company said this morning in reporting weaker than expected quarterly sales, the economy was recovering at a slower rate than expected and expects to face “headwinds” in the second half of the year due to continued high unemployment and other economic conditions. Get the full story »
General Growth Properties Inc. said it amended its reorganization plan to increase its capital structure flexibility and improve investment terms, and remains on track to emerge from bankruptcy in October. Get the full story »
Young customers at the grand opening new Microsoft Store in San Diego’s Fashion Valley Shopping Center. (Microsoft)
Microsoft is planning to open a store at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook by the end of the year, making the Chicago area one of just seven locations for the company’s new retail initiative.
The company announced the Oakbrook store last week at an analysts’ conference in Seattle and on its Microsoft Store Facebook page. Get the full story »
Phu Bui stands in his Chicago nail salon featured ad on Groupon.com. He thought 1,000 customers would bite on the deal but instead, he had 5,146 responses. (AP/M. Spencer Green)
Local shops nationwide are pulling in thousands of new customers with group coupons online, but the deals can sometimes work too well, turning marketing into a game of retail roulette.
Some of the nail salons, restaurants and other small shops that have sold the coupons have risked both new and existing business as they struggled to handle the surge in clients.
Omega, the timekeeper for Olympians and astronauts, is opening its first Chicago boutique on North Michigan Avenue, sources said.
The store is slated to open in November at 909 N. Michigan Ave. in the space occupied by Italian shoe boutique Fratelli Rossetti, which recently closed. Get the full story »
Habit, the nationally recognized Chicago boutique dedicated to championing emerging Chicago designers, is closing its doors on Saturday after five years.
Habit owner Lindsey Boland sent an email notice to customers Wednesday announcing that she was shutting down the shop.
Boland, a clothing designer who trained with Cynthia Rowley in New York, opened the store at 1951 W. Division St. in September 2005 with high hopes of turning the spotlight on local talent. Her mission was to carry independent, high-crafted designs created in small quantities, making sure to stock half the store with inventory from Chicago-based companies.
Habit joins a growing number of high-profile, independent Chicago boutiques that have closed this year in the wake of the recession as well-heeled shoppers cut back on spending. Get the full story »
Amazon.com launched a cheaper, wireless-only Kindle Wednesday, betting that the $139 price will turn its latest electronic reader into a mass-appeal device as Apple Inc’s iPad gains ground.
The world’s largest online retailer and leading e-reader seller also revealed its third generation Kindle, some 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter than the previous version, but still priced at $189.
Amazon does not give sales figures for the Kindle, but said last week that its growth rate tripled after it cut its price on the device from $259 and said e-books were outselling hardcover books. Apple has said it sold more than 3 million iPads, starting at $499, since the product was introduced in April. Get the full story »
Theo Albrecht, a reclusive billionaire who made his fortune building up one of Germany’s largest retail empires, has died at the age of 88.
Albrecht, an irrepressibly thrifty man who co-founded the Aldi discount market chain, was ranked by Forbes as Germany’s second-richest person — and ninth worldwide — with a fortune of almost 19 billion euros ($24 billion). Get the full story »
CVS Caremark Corp. Wednesday reported weaker quarterly earnings and lowered its profit forecast, but shares rose as investors approved of a large pharmacy benefit management services contract struck with Aetna.
CVS Caremark will administer Aetna’s retail pharmacy store network and manage customer service. It will also handle prescription drug purchasing, manage inventories and fill prescriptions for Aetna’s mail-order and specialty pharmacy operations. The contract will ramp up over several years and bring in revenue of $8.2 billion next year. CEO Tom Ryan said the 12-year contract is the largest and longest contract in the industry. Get the full story »
Another Wal-Mart is on its way to Chicago, with the City Council today approving a store for the South Side’s Chatham neighborhood. Aldermen voted 41-4 without discussion to approve the store at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue. That comes on the heels of the council’s unanimous vote last month to allow a Wal-Mart to be built in the far Southeast Side Pullman neighborhood. Prior to that, no Wal-Marts had opened in the city since 2006.
Supervalu Inc. posted weaker-than expected quarterly sales Tuesday but said it remains on track for its full-year earnings goals, as it controls margins and costs.
The company, whose shares rose 2 percent, said separately that Chief Financial Officer Pamela Knous, 56, will leave July 30 “to pursue other career interests.” It expects to fill the position by the time it reports second-quarter results in October. Get the full story »
New Bratz dolls (AP)
New Bratz dolls are heading to toy stores after a federal court overturned a ruling that their maker, MGA Entertainment, had to turn over the brand to Mattel Inc.
Two new lines of the doe-eyed dolls should hit stores such as Toys R Us, Target and Walmart by the end of August. Get the full story »
