Mass Merchant

NEW YORK — Macy's has partnered with fashion icon Nicole Richie (daughter of famed singer Lionel Richie) for an exclusive line for the company's Impulse division. Nicole Richie for Impulse will launch in 100 Macy's stores and at Macys.com in September and will feature apparel inspired by Richie's trendsetting personal style, including 1970s influenced silhouettes, prints and fabrications, the company said.

Has anyone else noticed that more and more consumers seem to be “cross-shopping” than ever before? I’m talking about those people who shop both the high-end luxury retailers and the discount or even dollar stores. I recently read an article that indicated one-quarter of all Nordstrom shoppers also shop at the Dollar Store. And, I started to ask myself if this trend is here to stay.
 

By Robin Lewis, [email protected] and Michael Dart, [email protected]

Total U.S. shopper traffic in retail stores and malls for April 2012

Warm weather and shifting holidays in March caused retail foot traffic to dip in April. Retail foot traffic in April was 7.6% lower from March, and 2.7% lower on a year-over-year basis.  The slow April is the first in the past 3 months to experience a decline in year-over-year and month-over-month retail foot traffic.

Hingman, Mass. -- The Talbots Inc. said it has received a raised takeover offer of $214.6 million from private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The company also said it entered an exclusivity agreement with Sycamore, which will end on May 15.

Talbots said Sycamore had offered to pay $3.05 per share -- slightly higher than the $3.00 per share offer it made in December.

The board of retailer said it continues to evaluate strategic alternative.

PLEASANTON, Calif. and WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States is praising Safeway's efforts to establish a gestation stall-free supply chain.

Safeway annnounced Monday that, due to concernes over animal welfare, it is working toward the goal of purchasing pork from producers that have made commitments to decreasing gestation stalls in their breeding facilities.

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports will be flat in May compared with the same month last year, but is expected to see solid year-over-year increases through this summer and the back-to-school season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

New York -- The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTSR), the second largest U.S. public pension fund, has filed a lawsuit against current and former Wal-Mart Stores’ executives and board members over mishandling of allegations that officials knew about a bribery campaign in Mexico and covered it up. The fund holds more than 5.3 million shares of Wal-Mart.