Strategy

Urban Outfitters Inc. will spend less than $20 million on its acquisition of Vetri Family Restaurant group, which owns the well-regarded Pizzeria Vetri chain, Bloomberg reported. The acquisition comes as consumers are spending more on “experiences” rather than clothing. “We believe that we do experiences really well and know our customer very well, and we have a lot of history in growing brands organically,” Urban Outfitters CFO Frank Conforti told Bloomberg.

Martha Stewart has taken her American Made store out of eBay and announced a new partnership with Amazon.com.

Columbus, Ohio -- WP Glimcher announced CEO Michael P. Glimcher has been named to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust’s (NAREIT) 2016 executive board. Glimcher previously served as chair of NAREIT’s Audit/Investment committee.

Staples says its reinvention is on track despite a disappointing financial performance in the third quarter.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Staples reported a profit of $198 million. Same-store sales decreased 2%. On a per-share basis, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said it had profit of 31 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 35 cents per share. The results matched Wall Street expectations. Revenue was $5.59 billion, which fell short of Street forecasts.

How busy is Times Square? Enough to support two Modell’s Sporting Goods stores.

The retailer is opening two new stores in the New York City metro area, including one at 136 West 42nd Street, its second Times Square location. Modell’s is also opening a store at Crossroads Plaza East in Rocky Point, New York.

The two new locations will expand the retailer’s portfolio to 155 stores in 10 states.

Nordstrom is adding some financial expertise to its board with its latest appointment.

The Seattle-based retailer has appointed Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer and Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase, to the company's board of directors. The addition of Smith brings the total number of directors to 15 and the number of independent directors to 12. Nordstrom directors serve one-year terms and the company requires annual elections of all Board members. Smith will join the Compensation and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees.

Pictured from left to right: Carlos Serra, Greg Holcomb, Martin Potts and Peter Belisle

Ten years ago, the CEO of Walmart and the president of Environmental Defense Fund hiked together on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Along the way, Lee Scott of Walmart (now retired) and Fred Krupp of EDF talked about climate change and the environmental challenges of our time. They also talked about ways that Walmart could drive positive environmental change in its product lines and operations.