Corporate Governance

Houston - Men's Wearhouse has increased its purchase offer for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. to $63.50 per share, or about $1.78 billion, from $57.50 per share, or about $1.6 billion. The bid may increase to $65 a share, or about $1.82 billion, if Jos. A. Bank agrees to halt its planned acquisition of Eddie Bauer and lets Men’s Wearhouse conduct limited due diligence. On February 14, Jos. A. Bank agreed to buy Eddie Bauer for $825 million, but reserved the right to terminate the deal if a superior transaction emerged.

New York -- Eminence Capital LLC, which owns 4.9% of the common stock of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. has issued a statement in support of the new offer by The Men's Wearhouse for the company. The statement, attributed to Eminence CEO Ricky C. Sandler, says that combining the two companies the best outcome for all shareholders.

San Jose, Calif. – Billionaire investor Carl Icahn and EBay are engaging in a public war of words that was ignited by an open letter Icahn sent to EBay shareholders on Monday, Feb. 24. In the letter, Icahn accused EBay CEO John Donahoe of ignoring conflicts of interest on its board and called for the company to spin off PayPal.

Little Rock, Ark. – Dillard’s Inc. reported declining net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, Dillard’s reported a 26% decline in net income to $119.1 million from $161.4 million.

Net sales in the fourth quarter declined 3% to $2.03 billion from $2.1 billion, and same-store sales grew 2%. During the fiscal year, net income dropped about 4% to $323.7 million from $336 million, and net sales slightly declined to $6.53 billion from $6.59 billion. Same-store sales rose 1%.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods opens a new store in Panama City Beach, Fla., on March 7. The store will be located at Pier Park North and will be the retailer's 25th store in the state of Florida and its 559th nationwide.

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open four new locations in Florida on March 8, adding to its existing store base of more than 130 locations in the Sunshine State. New locations include the Coral Ridge Mall in Fort Lauderdale, Seabridge Square in St. Augustine, Lake Mary Centre in Lake Mary, and Southchase Village in Orlando.  

Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate approximately 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots Inc. is hosting three career fairs in the San Francisco Bay and San Jose areas the first week of March. The retailer has opportunities for experienced store management, entry-level management, store associates, and stockers.

"We're looking for people committed to delivering terrific service in a fast-paced retail environment," said regional HR manager Bill Armstrong. "This is a great opportunity to meet and interact with a prospective employer and make a real impact."

London  -- ECommera, a provider of Big Data and omni-channel commerce solutions for retailers, has completed a $41 million Series C funding round. Dawn Capital led the round together with investors West Coast Capital, Frog Capital, EPlanet Capital, WPP and new partner Wti.

Jersey City, N.J. -- Adam Meshekow, former mobile brand marketing manager for Toys “R” Us Inc., is joining mobile media solutions provider Single Touch Systems Inc. as head of national retail sales. Meshekow will work with management to help architect plans for future client engagement and product development and deployment.

Single Touch Systems, a technology-based mobile media solutions provider, has named Adam Meshekow as head of national retail sales.

Meshekow will be responsible for the company's direct sales and marketing efforts and will work with management to help architect plans for future client engagement and product development and deployment.