eCommerce

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. said Monday in a regulatory filing that it has allowed shopping center owner Vornado Realty Trust to increase its stake in the department store retailer, from 9.9% to 15.4%.

The move eases a poison-pill restriction that had prevented Vornado from previously buying additional J.C. Penney shares. It mirrors a deal struck with Penney’s largest shareholder William Ackman, who received the go-ahead to up his stake, held through his Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund, from 16.5% to as much as 26.1%.

By Richard Hearn, CEO, Crown Partners

NEW YORK — One-in-six Americans (15%) uses an e-reader device, a new study from Harris Interactive found. This is up from less than 1-in-10 (8%) last year. 

NEW YORK, and KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Duane Reade has added Smith Electric Vehicles' Newton zero-emission, all-electric commercial trucks to its delivery fleet.

With the addition of these medium-duty trucks, Duane Reade is the first retail pharmacy in the United States to choose fleet electrification through a pilot program with Smith Electric Vehicles, a global leader in zero-emission, all-electric commercial vehicles.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores has named Trey Johnson to the newly created position of senior VP – food.

Johnson comes to Family Dollar from Sears Holdings where he created a limited assortment food concept for K-Mart. He also led the development of Wal-Mart’s Marketside format as its chief merchandising officer.
 

New York City -- Starbucks Coffee Co. plans to expand in Latin America after concentrating in recent past years more on Asia, founder and CEO Howard Schultz said at a presentation in Madrid, Bloomberg reported.

The chain as about $2 billion in cash to invest in an “aggressive and opportunistic way,” Schultz said, and is especially interested in Brazil, according to the report.

HOLLYWOOD — Frederick’s of Hollywood Group announced that former Gap executive Don Jones has joined the company as president and COO.   

Jones, who most recently served as CEO of Pogan Retail, a consulting firm he founded in 2003. Prior to founding Pogan, Jones served  as SVP stores and operations for Gap Inc., where he was responsible for Gap,  Gap Kids and Gap Body retail stores.  

During his career, Jones also held leadership positions at Target, Ikea, Filene's and Macy's.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target announced that it will offer an exclusive edition of Tony Bennett's next studio album, "Duets II." The deluxe edition of the album will be available at Target stores and at Target.com beginning Sept. 20. Target previously partnered with Bennett in 2006 for his album "Duets An American Classic." 

“I celebrated my 85th birthday in August and the celebration is continuing with this special gift to my fans,” said Bennett. “I hope they enjoy the extra songs found only at Target.”

HONG KONG — On the heels of a 98% drop in its yearly earnings, Esprit Holdings said it is divesting its North American businesses and exiting three major European markets.

The company said it is actively looking for a partner willing to acquire its North American operations, which include 93 stores in the United States.

New York City -- Barnes & Noble has bought some of Borders Group’s intellectual property along with other bidders, Crain’s New York reported.

According to Hilco Trading, the liquidation company handling the sale, multiple bidders, including Barnes & Noble, have agreed to buy $15.8 million of Borders' intellectual property, Craine’s said. The properties include a global portfolio of trademarks; Borders, Waldenbooks and Brentano's trade names; Internet domain names and the Borders.com e-commerce website.