eCommerce

New York - Deb Stores Holding LLC, owner of Deb Shops, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, with plans to close  stores and sell inventory if it can’t find a buyer for the business.   

Challenging times continue for teen retailer Aeropostale, as an 11 percent drop in same-store sales leads the company to report its eighth straight quarterly loss.

The retailer also said it would close 75 stores in the fourth quarter.

New York - On the heels of its eight straight quarterly loss, Aeropostale said it would close about 75 stores in the current quarter, and could close 50 to 75 more namesake locations in 2015, and 126 P.S. from Aeropostale stores by the end of January.   The struggling teen retailer reported a net loss of $52.3 million in the third quarter ended Nov. 1,  up from $25.6 million, in the year ago period. It also forecast a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.  

Toronto, Canada – Hudson’s Bay Company is launching a new credit card program with Capital One Financial Corp. that includes the Saks Fifth Avenue banner. The agreement is also planned to add the Lord & Taylor credit card program in June 2015, subject to certain closing conditions.  

An increase in selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses helped increase net loss at New York & Company Inc. to $9.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, up from $3.4 million a year earlier.

Net sales declined 3% to $210.6 million from $217.3 million, and same-store sales dropped 3.4%. New York & Co. cited soft performance in its wear-to-work category and the impact of product delays resulting from West Coast port labor issues as negatively impacting sales.

Minneapolis –  While some retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, are ramping up their store presence in China,  Best Buy Co. is pulling up stakes. The consumer electronics chain has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its Five Star business to the Jiayuan Group, a China-based real estate firm.   

Amazon has introduced a line of “ethically sourced” products for Amazon Prime members.

Amazon Elements will consist of premium products with “transparent origins,” the company said. Amazon Elements will offer Prime members an upgraded level of information about products: when and where items were made, why each ingredient was included, where the ingredients were sourced and more.

Even if Dollar General is unsuccessful in acquiring Family Dollar, the company plans to get bigger faster in 2015 by opening two stores every day and enhancing the productivity of an already expansive footprint.