Rutter's

New York City -- Borders Group will close another 28 superstore locations in addition to the 200 locations it is already shutting down as part of its reorganization under bankruptcy protection.

The closings are expected to occur by the end of April and include stores in Hollywood, Calif., and Stamford, Conn.

"We reached the determination about these stores after a further review of their ongoing economic viability," Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said in a statement.

New York City -- Skechers USA has sued Sears Holdings Corp, alleging that the chain was selling footwear that infringed on some of Skechers brands, including its toning Shape-ups line, Reuters reported.

"While we value our relationship with Sears, their actions are causing us tremendous damage, and we simply cannot let any company, let alone a company the size of Sears, infringe on our most valuable intellectual property," Philip Paccione, general counsel of Skechers, said.

Paris -- A report released Monday by Reuters said that French luxury group LVMH will acquire Italian luxury jeweler Bulgari for $5.2 billion.

The offer, according to the report, is a 60% premium to Bulgari’s average share price, and indicates that the bounce-back of the luxury market could occur at a faster rate than Wall Street anticipated.

Rival bidders included the Richemont group and PPR, according to Reuters.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department said sales at U.S. retailers edged up 0.3% in January, less than the expected 0.5% to 0.6% increase, but still the seventh straight month of gains. A series of snow storms that hit much of the country throughout the month was cited as one of the factors for the weaker showing.

Jakarta/Singapore -- Wal-Mart Stores is in talks to become a partner of Indonesian retailer PT Matahari Putra Prima to develop its hypermarts, according to Reuters.

South Korea's Lotte Shopping Co. has withdrawn from talks for a deal with Matahari, the report said. Matahari last month said it will seek a “global partner” to develop its hypermart business.

Morrisville, N.C. -- Lowe's Cos. announced Tuesday that it is laying off approximately 1,700 middle managers across the United States in an effort to cut costs as its profit trains rival The Home Depot. The retailer also plans to add 8,000 to 10,000 weekend sales assistants to improve staffing during its stores’ busiest times.

New York City -- J. Crew Group received no rival bid during a solicitation period and will stick with its nearly $3 billion buyout offer made by two private equity firms in November, according to Reuters. J. Crew agreed in November to be taken private by the two firms. It was able to solicit higher bids until Saturday.

NEW YORK - After coming off a strong November, U.S. retailers found their momentum largely waned in December, with sales impacted by a still-cautious consumer, early discounting and a blizzard that crippled the Northeast in the days immediately after Christmas. But while many chains missed Wall Street’s heightened expectations for December, the retail industry still turned in its strongest holiday performance since 2006.

New York City -- After coming off a strong November, retailers found their momentum waned in December, with many turning in mixed sales for the month. Industry experts said sales were impacted by a still-cautious consumer and the blizzard the crippled the Northeast in the days immediately following Christmas.

Thomson Reuters, which tracks same-store sales for a group of 28 national chains, said total sales for the group were expected to post a 3.4% increase in same-store sales for December, following a 5.6% bump in November.

New York City -- Borders Group is delaying payments to some of its vendors, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday. The news came just weeks after the company said it was trying to obtain new financing to avoid violating the terms of its credit agreements early next year.

"As part of this potential refinancing, Borders has determined that it is necessary to restructure its vendor financing arrangements and is delaying payments to certain of its vendors," Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said by phone, in a Reuters report.