Retail

New York -- Leonard Riggio, founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, has told the company’s board that he wants to make an offer for its retail business. Riggio is Barnes & Noble’s largest shareholder, owning nearly 30% of the company.

The offer would not include Nook Media, Barnes & Noble’s e-book division.

Barnes & Noble said in a statement that it had formed a special board committee of three directors to consider Riggio’s proposal. There is set timetable for the process.

New York -- Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s, took the stand on Monday to testify in the trial of two Macy's lawsuits regarding the deal between J.C. Penney Co. and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. The long-awaited trial began last Wednesday, in New York Supreme Court.

The trial is about whether Macy’s has the exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart branded cookware, bedding and certain other products.
 

Salt Lake City -- Overstock.com said Friday it has named Stormy Simon and David Nielsen as co-presidents of the company.

Simon was previously SVP over customer and partner care and, with the promotion, will add oversight of warehouse logistics, press relations, social media and strategic marketing.  
 
Nielsen, promoted from SVP merchandising and supply chain, will add oversight of international sales, talent management and information technology.

New York -- Wal-Mart de Mexico expects to spend up to $1.4 billion on investments in 2013. But the chain declined to discuss how many stores it will open.

The chain did say that it expects to increase total store space by 8% to 9% in Mexico and 6% in Central America this year.

"We think that the number of stores does not communicate much," said CEO Scot Rank in response to a question by an analyst, Reuters reported.

New York -- J.C. Penney has set a March 15 launch date for the debut of its Joe Fresh in-store shop concept. The Canadian fast-fashion apparel brand will be presented in dedicated shops, ranging from 750 sq. ft. to 2,500 sq. ft., in nearly 700 J.C. Penney stores.

The Joe Fresh collection will focus on modern basics for women, with everything priced under $70, according to J.C. Penney.

Bloomfield Hills, Mich. -- Taubman Centers, owner of Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Mich., said Friday that The Cheesecake Factory will make a Michigan debut with a new restaurant opening at Twelve Oaks.

The 8,430-sq.-ft. Cheesecake Factory will open in latter 2013, and will feature French limestone floors, decorative columns, hand-painted murals and contemporary lighting.

Twelve Oaks Mall is anchored by Nordstrom, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, J.C. Penney, Sears and the Lifestyle Café Food Court.
 

Dublin, Calif. -- Epicor Software Corp. announced that Home Hardware Center, part of Central Network Retail Group, completed its integration of Epicor  Eagle in February 2013. It is Epicor’s first major installation of Epicor Eagle delivered in a software as a service (SaaS) hosted environment.

Canton, Mass. -- Casual Male Retail Group will formally change its corporate name to Destination XL Group, Inc. to reflect the company's transition to its Destination XL format stores and DestinationXL.com e-commerce site. The name change will be effective as of Feb. 25.
   
As previously announced, the company's ticker symbol was changed to "DXLG" effective Dec. 5, 2012.