Strategy

Breaking the cycle of promotional ridiculousness at Jos. A. Bank is proving to be a far worse drag on sales and profits than parent company Men’s Wearhouse expected.

Men’s Wearhouse revealed the cost of breaking the promotional cycle at the acquired Jos. A. Bank stores on Nov. 6 when CEO Doug Ewert announced a huge downward revision to the combined company’s third quarter and full-year sales and profit outlook.

Ross Stores Inc. has hired away the chief merchant at Stein Mart to lead merchandising at DD's Discounts.

Ross Stores announced that Brian Morrow will join the company as president and CMO at DD's effective Dec. 7. Morrow will report directly to Barbara Rentler, the company's CEO, and be responsible for directing all aspects of merchandising at DD's Discounts.

The New York attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Lowe's to refund up to 10% of flooring installation fees paid by more than 16,000 customers. The Associated Press reports that Lowe’s, with 64 New York stores, overcharged the customers with a deceptive sales practice that it has since agreed to halt. The retailer had offered installation of carpeting, tile, wood and laminate flooring by third-party contractors at square-foot rates that were applied to materials bought, not those actually installed.

The New York attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Lowe's to refund up to 10% of flooring installation fees paid by more than 16,000 customers.

The Associated Press reports that Lowe’s, with 64 New York stores, overcharged the customers with a deceptive sales practice that it has since agreed to halt. The retailer had offered installation of carpeting, tile, wood and laminate flooring by third-party contractors at square-foot rates that were applied to materials bought, not those actually installed.

For a variety of retailers – from supermarkets, to restaurants, to department and convenience stores – the holiday shopping season represents the peak time of year for staffing up on temporary workers to help meet all of the increase in consumer demand.

The Walgreens Boots Alliance/Rite Aid deal can pass Federal Trade Commission scrutiny with as little as 170 retail store divestitures, according to a proprietary analysis conducted by Credit Suisse, but the company will more likely be required to sell off some 950 stores.

Walgreens may have to shutter as many as 3,000 stores in its bid to buy Rite Aid, or 65% of Rite Aid's store base, according to one real estate analyst in a Fortune story published Thursday, including 1,000 locations Walgreens is willing to jettison as part of any FTC negotiation and another 2,000 locations after the merger is complete.

L Brands Inc. kept its hot streak alive in October by posting yet another impressive increase in same-store sales.

The specialty retailer reported a 5% increase in same-store sales for the four weeks ended Oct. 31. Net sales also increased to $735.6 million, compared to net sales of $700 million for the four weeks ended Nov. 1, 2014.

Specialty athletic retailer City Sports never found its footing and, despite bringing in a veteran retailer to lead the 18-store operation, it has commenced going-out-of-business sales.

Gordon Brothers Group & Hilco Merchant Resources are managing the going-out-of-business process, which began Nov.6 at City Sports’ 18 stores in the Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Bass Pro Shops is exploring a bid for rival outdoors retailer Cabela's according to an exclusive report from Reuters. The news service says Bass Pro is working with an investment bank on the potential offer. Cabela's has recently begun to explore its options and has also reached out to private equity firms to solicit interest, Reuters says. [Reuters]