Retail Roundup: Circuit City Talks with Investors, Bebe CEO Resigns, More

(MoneyWatch)  Circuit City in talks with two investors despite crumbling market for electronics -- Mystery clouds the news that two unnamed parties are interested in either buying Circuit City Stores or giving the electronics retailer the funds to stay in business. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, and because the retail climate has only gotten progressively worse since then, analysts are questioning the motives of the anonymous parties interested in resurrecting the company. Mexican media mogul Ricardo Salinas Pilego is likely one of the interested parties; he sees value in the Circuit City name, according to a spokesperson for his media group, Grupo Salinas. [Source: Forbes]

Bebe CEO resigns -- Gregory Scott, CEO of Bebe Stores Inc., resigned late last week, adding Bebe to the growing list of retailers that have experienced recent power shifts amid economic struggles. Founder and chairman Manny Mashouf will assume Scott's role as the company's head, and the chain appointed Cynthia Cohen as the board's lead independent director. The company said Scott left to pursue other interests. [Source: WWD]

Abercrombie's holiday strategy isn't doing company any short-term favors -- While most retailers spent the holidays frantically slashing prices, teen-apparel chain Abercrombie & Fitch kept its poise, selling its pricey clothing at a premium. Yet, as sales steadily decline, the company could be in for a wake-up call: These days, only deep discounts are drawing shoppers into stores. "When you have Gucci on sale, Prada on sale, Neiman's on sale ... it's not totally a bad thing to be on sale," says Jefferies & Co. analyst Randal Konik. Once the teen sector's high-flyer, Abercrombie is now posting the most dismal sales results within the group, and December same-store sales fell 24 percent. [Source: guardian.co.uk]

eBay, Wal-Mart, Target top retailer name searches in November -- Searched 17.5 million times, eBay was the most sought-after Internet retailer in November, according to Nielsen Online, which measures which retailers Web users are looking for. Wal-Mart came in a distant second with 8.5 million searches, while Target trailed with 4.8 million searches. Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys R Us, Home Depot, Netflix, and Sears rounded-off the top-10 list. For many of these retailers, online sales have been a rare bright spot amid hard economic times. [Source: internetretailer]