Retail Roundup: Billionaire Snaps Up Circuit City Shares, Retailers' New Widgets, More

(MoneyWatch)  Mexican billionaire sees 'great value' in Circuit City -- Although Circuit City Stores Inc. recently filed for bankruptcy protection, one of the world's richest men believes the company may still have a future. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who owns a 28 percent stake in the company, is "banking on a great trademark, which is Circuit City," says Luis Nino de Rivera, a spokesman for Grupo Salinas. "[Circuit City is] a very important name in the retail industry in the United States, and it has great value." Salinas recently purchased more than 47 million shares of the company in a series of transactions that happened both before and after Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 protection last week. [Source: Comcast]

Innovative widgets gain popularity on retailers' sites -- Because e-commerce remains a small bright spot for many suffering retailers, businesses are finding innovative ways to bring their sites to life. In September, BNET reported on Sears' new virtual dressing room, but it's Oakley.com's cutting-edge widget that caught our attention this month. The eyewear retailer's site features an internally designed lens widget that places shoppers behind the lenses of Oakley glasses. Consumers can see what the world looks like through various lens tints; they can even choose to view a host of scenery samples, including golf courses, forests, and snowy half-pipes, as they browse different lens colors. [Source: internetretailer]
Woolworths ponders selling retail chain -- Woolworths Group confirmed early Nov. 19 that it's considering selling its retail business, an announcement that sent shares downward 38 percent. The UK retailer didn't name the possible buyer of its 815 stores, which sell everything from appliances to computer games. Britain's Times newspaper said Woolworths is talking with Hilco UK Limited, a company-restructuring specialist. [Source: Reuters]

Marc Jacobs pays $1 million to State of New York in settlement -- Marc Jacobs International forked over $1 million to the State of New York, ending an eight-month investigation by the New York State Attorney General's Office. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo was looking into allegations that the retailer bribed a state armory employee to secure space for fashion shows. The AG's office announced early last year that it was examining both Marc Jacobs and KCD Worldwide, the firm that planned the designer's fashion shows, for possibly giving an armory cash from February 2000 to February 2007. [Source: Heard on the Runway]