Strategy

Minneapolis -- Best Buy announced Tuesday it is expanding the Best Buy Mobile brand and store-within-a-store concept into 14 Five Star stores throughout Nanjing, China, this summer.

The expansion of Best Buy Mobile into the Chinese market is the first evolution of Global Connect, a partnership that was formed in November 2011 between Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse.

New York -- New York City-based RCS Real Estate Advisors said Tuesday it has been retained by bridal retailer David’s Bridal to facilitate lease renewals on behalf of the retailer.

RCS said it has expanded its previous engagement with David’s Bridal to provide lease renewal services for over one-third of the retailer’s more than 300 U.S. David’s Bridal store locations.
 

Minneapolis -- A just-released report from the Wall Street Journal said that Best Buy founder Richard Schulze, who resigned his chairman of the board seat earlier this month, may be looking into buying out the company.

Schulze is said to be working with bankers from Credit Suisse. At the time of his resignation as chairman, he owned approximately 20% of the company.
 

New Orleans — Despite reporting an uptick in organized retail crime, the National Retail Federation revealed that retail theft rates decreased in 2011, according to preliminary results of the organization's latest National Retail Security survey.

Seattle — Former Nordstrom executive, Loretta Soffe, has joined the advisory board of Zoomingo, which creates shopping discovery apps that help consumers find the best sales in their local stores anywhere in the nation.

Soffe spent 24 years at Nordstrom in buying, merchandising and product development. For the last 10 years, she served as EVP, general merchandise manager of women's, the largest division in the company with annual sales of $2.0 billion.

New York — The Jones Group has named George Sharp EVP design, a newly created position. Sharp will report to Stefani Greenfield, chief creative officer, and will work across all brands.

"George is an exceptional talent who brings tremendous experience and knowledge to The Jones Group," said Stefani Greenfield, chief creative officer of The Jones Group. "He will work closely with all of our brands to ensure that great design leads the process by which our brands enter the market."

New York -- Ritz Camera & Image has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of its restructuring, the company, which has 265 stores in 34 states, plans to close 128 locations and cut its staff of 2,000 in half.

This is the second time Ritz has sought protection under the bankruptcy laws, having emerged from Chapter 11 two years ago.

By Nancy Chisholm, [email protected]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Mattel has renamed its design center at its Southern California headquarters the Handler Team Center in honor of founders Ruth and Elliot Handler.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The storage solutions category at Office Depot got some new brand muscle this week as the company added Rubbermaid to the mix.

Rubbermaid products are now available nationwide at Office Depot stores and online at the retailer’s website. The announcement comes as promotional activity heats up around the back-to-college season which tends to start earlier and feature different product categories than K-through-12 back-to-school efforts.