News

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot said it has partnered with financial expert Jean Chatzky to offer tips to revitalize small businesses. Additionally, as part of the small business makeover contest, three small businesses will receive a makeover, including a one-on-one financial coaching session with Jean Chatzky.

CHICAGO — SymphonyIRI Group on Tuesday unveiled its latest segmentation solution called DigitaLink, which leverages SymphonyIRI’s Consumer Network Panel, MarketPulse research and analytic capabilities to segment shoppers into unique profiles, enabling suppliers and retailers to better manage marketing efforts with online consumers.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target scored another exclusive album deal, this time with The Fray. The company announced that it is partnering with The Fray on the release of the exclusive deluxe edition of their third album, “Scars and Stories.” The deluxe edition of “Scars and Stories” is available now for pre-order at Target.com and will be offered at Target stores nationwide beginning Feb. 7.

ITASCA, Ill. — Supervalu-owned Jewel-Osco, has announced that it will celebrate Black History Month this February with its 13th annual “A Taste of Black History” program, a month-long initiative to honor the contributions of Jewel-Osco’s African-American vendors and help them build on their success in the retail food business.

Rochelle Park, N.J. -- A Wednesday report by Bloomberg said that United Retail Group Inc., parent to plus-size retailer The Avenue, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer cited disproportionately high leasing costs for the move and also announced plans to sell the company.

According to Bloomberg, an affiliate of Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management will serve as the stalking-horse bidder in a court-supervised auction.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM said Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of Emptoris Inc., expanding IBM’s cloud-based analytics offerings that provide supply chain intelligence, or smarter commerce.

“Developing the right procurement strategy and an adaptive supply chain are keys to achieving the business objectives of smarter commerce,” said Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM Industry Solutions. “Together, Emptoris and IBM's integrated solutions will transform how clients manage compliance and mitigate supply risk.”

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers are set to put out all the stops this Valentine’s Day, with the average person shelling out $126.03, up 8.5% over last year, according to NRF’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGinsight. Total spending is expected to reach $17.6 billion.

Philadelphia -- The Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack, has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm The Gores Group for about $791 million. The total transaction, including debt, is valued at about $1 billion.

Under the terms of the buyout, the Los Angeles-based Gores Group will pay Pep Boys shareholders $15 a share, 24% above the closing price on Friday.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack announced that preliminary net sales and operating revenues for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011 increased approximately 6% to $1.39 billion compared with $1.31 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Comparable-store sales for company-operated stores increased approximately 2% during the 2011 fourth quarter.

The company said it expects diluted earnings per share for the 2011 fourth quarter to be in the range of 11 cents to 13 cents, compared with 51 cents per diluted share reported in the 2010 fourth quarter.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Monday evening named 25-year veteran Robyn Peters group VP of managed market sales, where she will lead all sales and account management activities in the company’s employer, health systems, health plans, government and small and individual payer segments, along with client retention, expansion programs and sales operations for Walgreens. Peters will report to Jeff Berkowitz, Walgreens SVP pharmaceutical development and market access.