Events

Columbus, Ohio – Bob Evans Farms said Tuesday it will divest its Mimi’s Café restaurant chain, selling it to LeDuff America – owner of Bruegger’s Bagels – for $50 million.

LeDuff America, a subsidiary of French bakery conglomerate Groupe LeDuff SA, will add the 145 Mimi’s units to its current portfolio of café-bakeries and coffee shops, including La Madeleine Country French Cafe, Brioche Doree, Bruegger's Bagels, Timothy's Coffee and Michel's Baguette.

NAPLES, Fla. — Though PayPal remains a popular online payment solution, Google's mobile wallet service is poised to take over the top spot.

WASHINGTON — Retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 3.4%, down slightly from 4.2% in 2012 and 5.8% in 2011, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2013 economic forecast.

The lukewarm forecast, released Monday, comes on the heels of a holiday season that went head-to-head with Washington’s political wrangling over fiscal concerns, shifting consumers’ spending plans downward. In the end, holiday sales in 2012 grew 3.0%.

ATLANTA — Songstress Taylor Swift has signed on as the new face of Diet Coke's "Stay Extraordinary" campaign, which celebrates the self-assured and aspirational people who enjoy Diet Coke everyday.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) added five industry executives to its board of directors during its semi-annual meeting on Jan. 28 in Los Angeles, Calif. Also as a part of the meeting, Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon was re-elected to the board. Executives joining the board are elected to serve two-year terms. 

Joining the RILA board of directors are:

Washington, D.C. -- Retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 3.4%, down slightly from 4.2% in 2012 and 5.8% in 2011, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2013 economic forecast.

The lukewarm forecast, released Monday, comes on the heels of a holiday season that went head-to-head with Washington’s political wrangling over fiscal concerns, shifting consumers’ spending plans downward. In the end, holiday sales in 2012 grew 3.0%.

Walmart continues to take heat for selling guns, and families in Newtown, Conn., are still grieving. Who wants to go see Warner Brothers’ new film “Bullet to the Head” starring Sylvester Stallone?

Carson, Calif. -- A Friday report by the Associated Press said that the home of Los Angeles’ professional soccer team will likely be getting a new name.

The Home Depot Center, which also includes facilities for tennis, track and field, baseball, basketball and other sports, as well as serves as an official training site for U.S. Olympians, is nearing the end of the $70 million, 10-year naming rights period, and Home Depot spokeswoman Jean Niemi told AP that the retailer does not plan to renew the deal.