Retail

New York -- Barnes & Noble announced that Mitchell Klipper, CEO of the retail group, will retire at the end of the fiscal year, ending May 2, but will remain with the company in the role of special advisor on real estate and other matters. Klipper, a 28-year veteran of the chain, previously served as the retailer’s COO and CFO before being appointed chief executive.

The retailer said it has begun a search to fill Klipper’s position and that he will help with the selection of the new retail CEO and in the transition process.

Sportsman’s Warehouse will honor those serving in the U.S. military and public safety occupations with a special promotion.

On Military and Public Safety Appreciation Day, Jan. 24, 2015, the stores will offer discounts of up to 20%. Firearms, ammunition, optics and electronics will be offered with a 10% discount.

By Jim Walsh, Alliance Data Retail Services

Consumers continue to engage more deeply with their smartphone… because they value what apps can do for them. They have downloaded more than 75 billion in the seven short years since the first app made its appearance on a smartphone.

If Staples fails to merge with Office Depot, activist investor and major Staples shareholder Starboard Value LP is warning the company’s share price will crater and Chairman and CEO Ron Sargent needs to go.

In a letter to Sargent, Starboard contends a combination with Office Depot, which hasn’t fully integrated with OfficeMax following a late 2013 merger, is the best way to maximize value for Staples' shareholders.

Burlington, Mass. -- Talbots will open a new store on Jan. 30 at Wayside, in Burlington, Massachusetts, according to Wayside’s management and leasing firm The Wilder Companies.

The opening of the 9,300-sq.-ft. Talbots, which features all three of the brand’s concepts -- Talbots, Talbots Petites, and the first Talbot Woman in the market -- is part of a multi-phase revitalization that is nearing completion at the open-air retail center.

Montreal – Canadian bookstore chain Indigo Books and Music Inc. has enhanced its implementation of XCCommerce’s Promotion Solution Suite across all its channels by rolling out the Central Coupon Module.

The obituary for the printed retail catalog might have been a bit premature, if J.C. Penney is correct.

The retailer is reportedly bringing back its big glossy paper catalog after new evidence surfaced suggesting that print catalogs drive sales, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners has been retained by Delia’s Inc. to manage the sale of the 71 retail store leases following the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
 
A&G Realty is currently accepting bids thru February 2, 2015 to acquire the leases, which range from 3,000 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft. in key retail locations at some of the country’s top malls.