Sales & Marketing

Houston - Men's Wearhouse has increased its purchase offer for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. to $63.50 per share, or about $1.78 billion, from $57.50 per share, or about $1.6 billion. The bid may increase to $65 a share, or about $1.82 billion, if Jos. A. Bank agrees to halt its planned acquisition of Eddie Bauer and lets Men’s Wearhouse conduct limited due diligence. On February 14, Jos. A. Bank agreed to buy Eddie Bauer for $825 million, but reserved the right to terminate the deal if a superior transaction emerged.

Palo Alto, Calif. -- HP is releasing a Windows 8.1 tablet-based POS solution designed to make it easy for small business retailers to effectively manage their business and cut operating costs. The HP TX1 POS solution provides the ability to run essential POS applications and popular productivity applications.

Denver — H&M has signed a lease for 20,000 sq. ft. at The Orchard Town Center, a 914,000-sq.-ft. open air regional retail center in Westminster, Colo., according to Vestar, the property’s owner. H&M plans to open the new store in the fall.

The addition of H&M comes less than two months after Vestar acquired the property for $123.5 million in an all cash transaction. Vestar plans to redevelop the project, rebranding the center with new amenities while brining in new retailers.

Oscar Mayer is launching the P3 Portable Protein Pack, which the company designed for active consumers who are looking for a snack to help get them through the day.

The company says the new protein packs are positioned to become a major item in the protein-snacking category, which has enjoyed growth thanks to consumer desires for protein-filled snacks like Greek yogurt and protein bars. The on-the-go packs are made of three brands: Oscar Mayer Selects Meats, Kraft Natural Cheeses and Planters Nuts.

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots Inc. is hosting three career fairs in the San Francisco Bay and San Jose areas the first week of March. The retailer has opportunities for experienced store management, entry-level management, store associates, and stockers.

"We're looking for people committed to delivering terrific service in a fast-paced retail environment," said regional HR manager Bill Armstrong. "This is a great opportunity to meet and interact with a prospective employer and make a real impact."

eBay and billionaire investor Carl Icahn are engaging in a public war of words that was ignited by an open letter Icahn sent to eBay shareholders Monday, Feb. 24. In the letter, Icahn accused eBay CEO John Donahoe of ignoring conflicts of interest on its board and called for the company to spin off PayPal.

Little Rock, Ark. – Dillard’s Inc. reported declining net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, Dillard’s reported a 26% decline in net income to $119.1 million from $161.4 million.

Net sales in the fourth quarter declined 3% to $2.03 billion from $2.1 billion, and same-store sales grew 2%. During the fiscal year, net income dropped about 4% to $323.7 million from $336 million, and net sales slightly declined to $6.53 billion from $6.59 billion. Same-store sales rose 1%.

New York -- Eminence Capital LLC, which owns 4.9% of the common stock of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. has issued a statement in support of the new offer by The Men's Wearhouse for the company. The statement, attributed to Eminence CEO Ricky C. Sandler, says that combining the two companies the best outcome for all shareholders.