Retail Roundup: Tweeter Abruptly Closes, Nordstrom Pays $60,000 Penalty, More

(MoneyWatch)  Tweeter abruptly closes, leaving employees in the cold -- Electronics chain Tweeter, which first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2007, converted its case into a Chapter 7 liquidation Dec. 2, swiftly shutting its doors and axing more than 600 employees at 70 stores across the country days before the company was slated to close for good. The chain's owner, New York-based investment firm Schultze Asset Management, shut down the retailer after paying off millions of dollars to the largest secured creditor, Wells Fargo. Still, plenty of loose strings need to be tied up: Employees are still owed at least one week's pay in addition to the vacation time and bonuses they were promised, customers are unable to pick up merchandise they've already purchased, and the liquidators have yet to collect their paychecks. [Source: The Boston Globe]

Nordstrom pays $60,000 penalty -- Nordstrom Inc. of Seattle has agreed to pay a $60,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that the retailer knowingly failed to report that its children's hooded jackets and sweaters were sold with drawstrings at the hood and neck. As required by federal law, the chain should have reported the strangulation hazard to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission immediately. Although the drawstring garments were recalled, Nordstrom sold nearly 2,400 of them between November 2007 and December 2007. [Source: MarketWatch]

Cyber Monday proves to be second heaviest shopping day in online history -- Although many e-commerce sites suffered technical difficulties on Cyber Monday, the $846 million consumers racked up in Internet sales made Dec. 1 the second heaviest shopping day in online retail history. Sales on the Monday following Thanksgiving last year totaled just $733 million. "Consumers are clearly responding positively to retailers' aggressive online discounts," says Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Inc., the company that reported the figures. "This is an extremely encouraging development for retailers." [Source: internetretailer]

Wal-Mart rolls out Green Jobs Council -- Just weeks after Wal-Mart inked a deal to supply 360 Texas locations with wind power, the world's largest chain took another step toward sustainability by launching the Green Jobs Council. "We believe that creating green jobs is essential to keeping the U.S. competitive in the global marketplace, said Leslie Dach of Wal-Mart. [Source: Wal-Mart]