Retail

eBay is making updates to its seller performance standards and returns policy designed to promote and safeguard top-level sellers and also ease returns.

Express has enlisted swimsuit model Kate Upton as its brand ambassador, making her the first celebrity spokesperson to be a part of the brand's ad campaigns in the last decade.

To kick off the partnership, Upton will host the Express Spring-Summer 2014 Runway Show at the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, March 13. The retailer will then debut Upton in advertising campaigns beginning fall 2014.

National Retail Federation SVP David French told the House Judiciary Committee in a letter this week that legislation is needed to level the playing field between local retailers and out-of-state competitors, as the NRF continues to push Congress to pass legislation that would require online and remote sellers to collect state and local sales taxes.

A little more than a month ago, Robert Hanson resigned as CEO of American Eagle Outfitters, following disappointing holiday sales, and caused shares to drop 10%. Shares dropped again, nearly 7% this time, following what the company called “highly disappointing” fourth-quarter results.

The phrase “game-changing” is arguably the most overused in business, but a strategic alliance that IRI president and CEO Andrew Appel announced this week actually fits the bill.

During introductory remarks at IRI’s annual summit, Appel shared with the more than 1,000 attendees gathered in Orland details of a huge data sharing partnership between IRI, comScore and Rentrak.

“Far and away, this is the biggest innovation IRI has done in the past 15 years,” Appel said.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has enlisted four craft bloggers from around the country to create the 2014 Spring LookBook, a collection of inspiration based on five spring trends.

Following disappointing fourth-quarter sales, the Bon-Ton Stores president and CEO Brendan L. Hoffman has notified the company’s board of directors that he will not renew his employment agreement with the company when it expires Feb. 7, 2015.

Hoffman also plans to resign as a director of the company.

Inclement weather has hurt some retailers’ quarterly sales results, but it has been no match for Dick’s Sporting Goods. The company’s fourth-quarter results exceeded the upper end of guidance range it provided in its third quarter press release.