Consumer Affairs & Relations

New York -- Jones Group Inc. has tapped Citigroup Inc. to explore a possible sale, according to Reuters.
 
In April, Jones Group said that it would close 170 stores and cut 8% of its workforce after first-quarter profit was less than analysts’ estimates. The news comes just months after activist hedge fund

The company, whose brands include Stuart Weitzman, Jones New York, Easy Spirit, and Nine West, had a market value of about $1.2 billion as of July 5.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot announced that Michael J. Massey, previously CEO and president of Collective Brands, has been nominated to join the board. He fills the vacancy created by current director Brenda Gaines, has decided not to stand for reelection at this year’s annual meeting of stockholders.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot has nominated former president and CEO of Collective Brands Michael J. Massey to its board. If elected, he would fill the vacancy created by current director Brenda Gaines, who has decided not to stand for re-election at this year’s annual meeting of stockholders. 

Watsonville, Calif. -- West Marine has released its BlueFuture(R) 2012 Sustainability Report. The study encompasses the retailer’s company-wide efforts focusing on sustainability, including improving and protecting the marine environments, reducing the company's carbon footprint and encouraging people to enjoy being out on the water.

Included in the report is a reduction in the company’s greenhouse gas of 4.29% year over year, with an over 17.5% reduction since its 2007 baseline.

Business and friendship are generally considered incompatible. It’s hard to take the dispassionate, profits-first mindset that traditionally governs business transactions with a person you think of as a friend. However, in this burgeoning age of social media and social commerce, retailers need to make friends with their customers to maximize engagement, loyalty and profits.

CITY OF COMMERCE, Calif. — Extreme value retailer 99 Cents Only Stores is getting ready to help one of its customers celebrate her 99th birthday as only it can. 

At 7 a.m. Friday, July 19, Mildred "Millie" Fox of Murrieta, Calif., is going to receive a 99-second shopping spree experience and free birthday cake at her local store. It will be 99 Cents Only Stores’ very first 99th birthday celebration.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. said Friday that a group of stockholders will plan to sell up to 10 million shares of the company.

The company registered an offering of up to 10 million shares worth as much as $753.2 million. It did not specify who will sell the shares or when the offering is expected to close.

Restoration Hardware's biggest shareholders are the private equity firms Catterton Partners and Tower Three Partners, followed by Glenhill Capital.
 

Toronto -- A "Sears Hometown" store owner in Woodstock, Ontario (Canada), has launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of approximately 260 Sears Hometown dealers across Canada against Sears Canada and its American affiliate, Sears. Both are subsidiaries of Sears Holding Corp.

The lawsuit alleges that Sears lowered dealers' commissions, reduced advertising for local stores and bypassed the franchises by selling directly to customers who are located within their markets.