eCommerce

New York – Barnes & Noble Inc. will officially spin off its education unit on Aug. 2, 2015. Barnes & Noble shareholders will receive 0.632 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock for each share of Barnes & Noble stock they hold as of July 27, 2015.

Barnes & Noble Education will function as a separate public company and trade under the symbol BNED on the New York Stock Exchange. Barnes & Noble will continue trading on the NYSE under the symbol BKS.

Grapevine, Texas – GameStop Corp. has completed a very geeky purchase. The video game chain has acquired 86% of outstanding shares of Geeknet Inc. in a tender offer that expired July 13, 2015.

GameStop Corp. purchased about 5.92 million shares for $20 per share in cash, or roughly $11.8 million. The retailer will make payment on July 17, 2015.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. - Kohl’s Corp. has increased the maximum amount of a previously announced cash tender offer for several debt notes coming due between 2017 and 2033 from $60 million to about $737.04 million. The new tender offer is subject to the same terms and conditions made in an original offer to purchase dated June 29, 2015.

Settlement of notes that have been tendered and accepted for purchase by Kohl’s is expected to take place July 17, 2015. The tender offer expires July 27, 2015.
 

Austin, Texas – A flagship Whole Foods market is reportedly coming to a corner location in midtown Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Business Journal, the multi-level, 70,000-sq,-ft. will anchor a 14-story mixed-use development that will also include 390 luxury apartments.

Miami-based The Related Group is developing the project, with Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart serving as architect.
 

Now more than ever, today’s consumers want to be treated as individuals rather than a market. No matter which channel is used to interact with brands, some level of personalization is expected. Whether it’s online, mobile or in a brick-and-mortar store, customers want a shopping experience tailored to their specific needs and preferences.

New York -- Online beauty subscription retailer Birchbox is plunging deeper into brick-and-mortar retailing — and it is seeking customer input to help guide its decision.

Seattle -- Amazon has released an early preview of some of the deals that will be offered on July 15, as part of its first-ever Prime Day anniversary extravaganza. The promotion, which Amazon claims will be bigger than Black Friday, has caused Walmart to offer its own super-sale online on Wednesday.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings had tapped a Gymboree exec as president and put her in charge of Sears’ Shop Your Way loyalty program.

Sears is using the program to align its online and offline operations.

New York -- There was good news for retailers in the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual BTS (Back-to-School) Consumer Spending Survey.

The survey revealed that the share of consumers expecting to spend more this year increased significantly year-over-year to 67%, compared to 50% of shoppers in 2014 and 39% who expected to increase spending in 2013.

With its stock trading at a 52-week low, Sears has made an interesting choice to lead its department store business.

The company says it has found a new executive to develop a strategy for the Sears format that focuses on meeting the needs of the Shop Your Way member.