eCommerce

Houston – After rejecting a $2.3 billion buyout offer from Jos. A. Bank, Men’s Wearhouse reportedly is considering purchasing men’s shoemaker Allen Edmonds Corp., according to reports by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and others. The high-end footwear is owned by private equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, which bought it seven years ago.

It wasn’t clear how — or if — a deal for Allen Edmonds would impact on Jos. A. Bank’s offer.

Austin, Texas - The current state of the economy will drive 41% of consumers to look for ways to save money on their holiday shopping this year, seeking out bargains and coupons. According to the new annual holiday shopping and coupon usage survey from Offers.com, about half of people (51%) make a holiday gift list, and 62% set a budget for their holiday gift shopping.

Other holiday-related findings from the survey include:

San Jose, Calif. – eBay is acquiring Shutl, a London-based same-day e-commerce delivery company with North American headquarters in San Francisco, for an undisclosed sum. Through the purchase, eBay hopes to establish its one-hour eBay Now delivery service in 25 cities in the U.S., and U.K., by the end of 2014.

Chicago — Regency Centers Corp. has announced the development of Glen Gate, a 102,876-sq.-ft. shopping center located in Glenview, Ill., a North Shore suburb of Chicago. A 75,564-sq.-ft. Mariano’s Fresh Market, slated to open next fall, will anchor the development. The center will have one out-lot with an additional 24,000 sq. ft. for retail and restaurants.

True Religion Apparel has appointed Rosella Giuliani as SVP of merchandising. In her new role, Giuliani will partner with CMO Lynne Koplin and creative director Gary Harvey to shape True Religion’s merchandising across the company’s platforms.

Giuliani will report to Koplin. Steve Horak will join the company as SVP of planning and allocation with responsibility for the brand’s product distribution, effective Nov. 4. He will report to CFO and COO Eric Bauer.

Starbucks previewed the first-of-its-kind Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar in New York City’s Upper East Side. The tea bar offers a curated assortment of handcrafted tea beverages, premium loose leaf teas, tea-inspired food offerings and tea merchandise.

It's been almost one year since Starbucks acquired Teavana, and the company plans to expand the new tea bar format to additional stores throughout the course of the next year.

Groupon has elected Jeffrey Housenbold, president and CEO of Shutterfly, to the company’s board of directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jeffrey to the Groupon board,” said Ted Leonsis, chairman. “He brings tremendous expertise and energy, as well as a demonstrated history of innovation and leadership. We look forward to his perspective as Groupon continues to grow and evolve.”

FedEx anticipates moving more than 22 million shipments around the world on Cyber Monday, Dec. 2 —its busiest day in company history. The 11% year-over-year increase will be driven by online retailers feeding the FedEx Ground and FedEx SmartPost networks.

New York -- Amazon.com has raised its free shipping minimum from $25 to $35. The change, which applies to orders shipped to U.S. addresses, took effect Tuesday, just ahead of the holiday shopping season.

"This is the first time in more than a decade that Amazon has altered the minimum order for free shipping in the U.S.,” the online giant said in a brief post on its website. “During that time, we have expanded free shipping selection by millions of items across all 40 product categories."

New York -- Coach reported a decline in first-quarter profit amid declining North America sales. The company had net income of $217.88 million, down from $221.38 million in the previous year.
 
Net sales for the quarter fell 1% to $1.15 billion from $1.16 billion a year ago, below analysts' estimate of $1.19 billion.