eCommerce

Walmart International takes center stage next week with investors, as international division president and CEO Doug McMillon and other members of senior leadership offer insight into operations in China and Japan.

New York City -- FAO Schwarz is seeking to extend the lease for its flagship store in Manhattan, almost three years after the landlord Boston Properties said the retailer would likely have to leave, Bloomberg reported. The store is located in the General Motors Building, on Fifth Avenue at the corner of 58th Street.

Seattle – Nordstrom said Thursday it has completed its acquisition of online private sale marketplace HauteLook, effective March 23.

Nordstrom said the acquisition will enable it to participate in the fast-growing private sale marketplace and provide a platform to increase innovation and speed in the way it serves customers in all channels.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens announced that it would "accelerate its online strategy" by acquiring e-retailer Drugstore.com. The deal, worth about $429 million, gives Walgreens access to 3 million online customers.

Walmart’s small format desires certainly haven’t gone unnoticed by the folks at Dollar General, a company that appears bent on saturating the marketplace with small discount stores. Last year, Dollar General opened 600 new stores and remodeled or relocated 504 other stores to end its fiscal year with 9,372 stores. This year, more of the same is planned with the expansion figure getting a bump to 625 new units, while the number of remodels and relocations expands to 550 units.

Toronto -- Canadian golf retailer Golf Town said Thursday it has opened its first five stores in the United States, all located in the greater Boston area.

The $25 million U.S. market expansion includes stores in Avon, Bellingham, Reading, Seekonk and Watertown, Mass., all of which opened on March 24 and total about 100,000 sq. ft. A sixth store is slated to open in Northborough, Mass. in the fall.

DEERFIELD, Ill. and BELLEVUE, Wash. — Shortly after posting record second-quarter sales on Tuesday, Walgreens announced that it would "accelerate its online strategy" by acquiring e-retailer Drugstore.com for about $429 million, subject to customary conditions.

Hingham, Mass. -- The Talbots reported Thursday a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss, and said it plans to expand its store re-image program to improve traffic. The chain also it expects to close as many as 100 stores over the next two years.

Talbots lost $2.8 million in the quarter ended Jan. 29, compared with a loss of $1.5 million in the year-ago period.

Net sales fell 7.4% to $292.6 million, compared with $315.9 million in the same period last year. Same-store sales dropped 7.3%.