Strategy

New York – Saks Inc. has settled lawsuits from investors related to its proposed buyout by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). According to Bloomberg, Saks has reached an agreement that reduces the termination fee it would pay HBC in the event the purchase does not happen and reduces the time Saks has to seek alternative offers

New York - Almost three-in-four Americans are holding back on spending, according to a new Bankrate.com report, with stagnant income the most frequent reason (32%), followed by the need to save more (24%) and worries about the economy (20%). Just 27% of Americans say they are not holding back spending at all.

Additional findings:

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation calculated retail industry job gains at 15,200 in September, and 289,000 jobs year-over-year, a 2.4% increase over the same month last year and 2.0% higher than total private sector jobs over the past year.

Richmond, Va. — Divaris Real Estate has announced the renewal of a 26,537-sq.-ft. Big Lots lease in the Midlothian Crossing Shopping Center in Richmond, Va.

DRE manages and leases the center for landlord Midlothian Associates. Other tenants include Goodwill, Family Dollar and Red Wing Shoes.

I’d like to try something a bit different for this week’s column: a market-specific conversation! I’ve tapped Dave Cheatham from Phoenix-based Velocity Retail Group, an X Team International Partner, to help me examine the recent ups and downs of the local retail market in Arizona — and what the lessons learned here mean for brick and mortar retailers nationwide.

RadioShack posted a net loss of $112 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to a net loss of $47 million in the year-ago period. It was the retailer’s seventh straight quarter posting a net loss.

The company also named Paul Rutenis, formerly senior VP, general merchandising manager for the home division of J.C. Penney Company, as its new chief merchant.

Coppell, Texas – Alco Stores, Inc. will voluntarily delist its common stock from the Nasdaq Stock Market on or about Oct. 31, 2013. The delisting of the company's shares is subject to stockholder approval of the proposed merger with an affiliate of Argonne Capital Group, LLC.

Amazon.com has announced that this holiday season, thousands of third-party sellers will have the opportunity to participate in its holiday deals promotion program.

Third-party sellers on Amazon will be allowed to offer holiday deals that will be featured on the Amazon holiday deal pages, including its Today’s Deals page. Holiday deals from sellers will appear on high customer traffic merchandising pages which highlight limited-time discounts on holiday items exclusively from sellers.