eCommerce

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples plans to improve customer experience, accelerate growth and deliver value to shareholders through a new strategic plan. Under the plan, Staples will integrate its retail and online offering, increase investment in its online businesses, reorganize its operations, implement leadership changes, initiate a multi-year cost savings plan, and restructure its international operations.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus has launched a contest to find the perfect blogger that embodies the sensibility of its Cusp brand.

Neiman Marcus launched the Cusp brand in 2006 with two freestanding stores that offered customers a contemporary assortment of apparel and accessories. The brand has grown over time to include a total of six Cusp stores, Cusp.com and integration into the 42 Neiman Marcus stores.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl's is partnering with designer Derek Lam for the second installment if its DesigNation limited-edition collection. As part of the Kohl’s DesigNation concept featuring premier designer fashions based on international inspiration, the Derek Lam collection will draw creative influence from his trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The collection features misses’ apparel and swimwear and will be available exclusively at Kohl’s and Kohls.com beginning in April 2013.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores has entered into a partnership with Derek Lam, who will be the second designer for the retailer’s DesigNation limited-edition collection. The retailer said the upcoming collection will draw creative influence from the designer’s recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

New York -- As women age, they find the shopping experience less enjoyable, according to a survey by global design consultancy Fitch. The study finds that the most fulfilled female shopper is between 16 and 24 years of age, suggesting that shops are designed for the young.

“There is a big opportunity for retailers to redress the balance and improve all our shopping experiences — which is better for business and better for shoppers,” said Tim Greenhalgh, chief creative officer office, Fitch.

Rochester, Minn. — Electric Friends, which produces animal-themed speakers for iPhone and iPod, will be available in Toys“R”Us stores nationwide beginning Sept. 28, featured as an end cap throughout the holiday season.

New York -- Wet Seal Inc. sent a letter to its shareholders saying activist investor Clinton Group is looking to replace most of the retailer's board with its own nominees, Reuters reported.

Wet Seal urged its shareholders to reject Clinton's five-member slate, according to a filing with regulators on Sept. 24, the report said.

Dallas -- Venture Commercial announced that True Food Kitchen will open a 5,915-sq.-ft restaurant at The Plaza at Preston Center, a five-story mixed-use development under construction in Dallas.

True Food, a Fox Restaurant Concepts brand, is slated to open in 2013 in a ground-floor space of a building that is devoted to retail tenants.