Retail Roundup: Kohl's, Forever 21 Take Over Mervyn's Locations, Double-Digit Declines Across Retail Sectors, More

Kohl's, Forever 21 snap up soon-to-be-vacated Mervyns stores --- Mervyns bankruptcy spells expansion for Kohl's Corp. and Forever 21 Inc., an unlikely pair of apparel retailers who won a joint bid to take over 46 former Mervyns locations for $6.25 million. Kohl's, which opened dozens of new stores in 2008, will take hold of 31 Mervyns sites, while fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 will assume the remaining 15 locations, pending court approval. Mervyns is still in the process of closing its 149 remaining stores, using liquidation sales to get rid of merchandise. [Source: The San Francisco Chronicle]

Double-digit declines across most retail sectors -- E-commerce has been a bright spot of the holiday shopping season thus far, as have gasoline and food sales, according to the new SpendingPulse economic report, which tracks the retail industry through the first week of December. "The last time the average [gas] price was below $1.70 was in 2004, and when gas pumping increases, historically we have seen an increase in store traffic," said Michael McNamara, vice president of SpendingPulse. Unfortunately, most sectors didn't fare as well. Specialty apparel was down 19.5 percent through the first week of December from last year, and electronics/appliance sales showed an even steeper decline of 25 percent compared to the first week of December 2007. Luxury merchandise took the biggest hit, however, as sales dropped 27.8 percent through the first week of the month. [Source: MarketWatch]

Shoppers taking advantage of economy, negotiating prices -- Consumers taking notice of retailers' plight during the downturn are becoming opportunists, haggling prices with businesses so eager to lock a sale that they are willing to trim already-narrow margins. Over the past few months, 72 percent of shoppers have negotiated a lower price on something they have bought simply by asking, according to Britt Beemer, a retail analyst and founder of America's Research Group. Many stores have noticed a rise in haggling, reports The Herald Tribune, which chronicled a Florida couple's quest to buy a new refrigerator. Their list of demands included a rock-bottom price, 30-day price guarantee, financing for one year without interest, free delivery, and free take-away of their old refrigerator (they were able to find a retailer willing to satisfy all these conditions). [Source: HeraldTribune.com]

France's first lady sues clothing company over bags -- The first lady of France is taking legal action to stop an area retail company from distributing bags featuring a nude black-and-white image of her. Former-model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is seeking $165,000 in damages from Pardon, an apparel retailer based on the French island of La Reunion. Her attorney claims the first lady has exclusive ownership rights to the image, taken in 1993. A La Reunion court will hear the case Dec. 19. [Source: Associated Press]