Retail

Jos. A. Bank has officially rejected Men’s Wearhouse’s latest $1.78 billion buyout offer. But in yet another twist to the long-running saga between the two companies, in open letter to Men’s Wearhouse president and CEO Douglas S. Ewert, Jos. A. Bank said it is willing to meet with its rival.

Roundy's chairman, president and CEO Robert A. Mariano was optimistic following fourth quarter and full year results for the period ended Dec. 28, 2013.

The grocer saw a net sales increase of 2% to a little more than $1 billion, with net income at $8.7 million, or $0.19 diluted net earnings per common share. For the full year 2013, the company saw net sales increase by 1.5% to $4 billion. Net income was $34.5 million, or $0.76 diluted net earnings per common share.

Walmart honored more than a dozen trucking and transportation partners this week as “Carriers of the Year,” and the list includes many of the supply chain world’s biggest companies along with some lesser known firms.

In addition to its massive private trucking fleet, the enormity of Walmart’s business means it works with more than 400 third party carriers. Out of those the company recognized 13 companies and further singled out Charlie Crawford from UPS as carrier representative  of the year.

Best Buy saw revenues slip in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2013, thanks in part to declining retail traffic fueled by a shorter holiday shopping season and severe winter weather. But all was not bad news for the retailer, which was able to profit from its Renew Blue cost reduction program.

During the fourth quarter, Best Buy reported net earnings of $311 million, a notable improvement from its $460 million net loss a year earlier. For the fiscal year, Best Buy reported net earnings of $523 million, compared to a net loss of $233 million the prior fiscal year.

WTI expects March 2014 to trend similar in temperature to last year and below normal for the U.S. as a whole. The month starts out with cold, possibly record-breaking, in the North along with some potentially snowy and/or icy weather as a storm system moves through. Colder trends linger into the second week of the month, but toward St.Patrick’s day, temperatures look to take a turn toward trending warmer than last year.

WalmartLabs, Walmart’s online and digital development division, has acquired Seattle-based recipe technology startup Yumprint to expand its online grocery delivery services.

Yumprint has a website and mobile app to search and discover new recipes from thousands of food blogs, plan meals and calculate nutritional information.

In a blog post, WalmartLabs credited Yumprint founders Chris Crittenden and Wes Dyer for their vision on how technology can improve how “all of consumers discover and prepare our meals.”

As far as sales go, Sears Holdings didn’t have a very happy holiday. But the company was still able to narrow its loss for the fourth quarter, as it lowered expenses and reduced inventory.

The company said the costs of transforming into a member-centric retailer using an integrated online platform and the omnichannel Shop Your Way membership program fueled its net losses. It attributed declining revenues to lower same-store sales and having fewer stores in operation.

eBay Enterprise, a leading global provider of commerce technologies, retail order management, fulfillment and customer care services and marketing services for retailers and brands, has extended its partnership with Karmaloop to provide marketing solutions that increase conversion.