Retail Roundup: Goody's New Strategy, Strongest Retailers Gain Strength, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Goody's goes against current with new strategy -- While many retailers are focusing on online sales and seeking to utilize new channels, Goody's Family Clothing is taking a step in the opposite direction by shutting down its e-commerce site as part of its emergence from bankruptcy. The apparel chain, which filed for bankruptcy in June, closed and liquidated 69 under-performing locations in addition to its e-commerce warehouse in Tennessee. Although Goody's move away from e-commerce comes at a time when online sales are among the few bright spots retailers have left, CEO Paul White stood firm, saying the chain is building on its "55-year heritage." [Source: internetretailer]

Strongest retailers to gain strength amid troubled economy -- While all retailers are feeling the impact of the down economy, a recent article by economist.com highlights an emerging trend: The weak get weaker, and the strong get stronger. Floundering retailers hanging on by their fingernails are beginning to drop off one by one -- both Mervyns and Linens 'n Things have began their liquidation sales after recent bankruptcies. Meanwhile, the competitors left standing are reaping the benefits of the chains' falls. "This bifurcation, in which the strong get stronger, the weak weaker, is occurring at every level of the retailing industry, from top to bottom," says Thierry Chassaing, a consultant at Boston Consulting Group. [Source: economist.com]

Macy's to temporarily reinstate reporting of monthly sales data -- Just months after Macy's stopped reporting its monthly sales, the department-store chain announced plans to "temporarily" reinstate the issuing of such reports thanks to a rocky and uncertain economic climate. "We want to provide investors as much information and transparency as possible," said CEO Terry J. Lundgren. Facing criticism from analysts, Macy's originally quit revealing monthly sales earlier this year, calling them "incomplete and sometimes misleading." [Source: Heard on the Runway]

DJM to sell Linens 'n Things -- DJM Realty, the company that sold 120 Linens 'n Things locations during the chain's first round of closures, announced on Oct. 27 that it will handle the disposition of the remaining 371 store leases and three distribution centers. Prior to filing Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy in May, the chain operated 551 stores across the nation. [Source: Sacramento Business Journal]