DAILY BRIEFING
Penney store in Easton among 138 closing in U.S.
The JCPenney department store in Easton will close, likely by June, as part of the retailer’s plans to shut 138 stores nationwide.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. had announced plans last month to close two distribution centers and 130 to 140 stores in a move to cut costs and boost sales at stronger locations, but it had not disclosed specific locations.
The Easton store in the Easton Marketplace is the only closure in Maryland, according to a list JCPenney released Friday. JCPenney has six Baltimore-area stores.
About 5,000 workers will be affected by the national store closings, most of which are slated for June.
“We believe closing stores will ... allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers,” Marvin R. Ellison, JCPenney chairman and CEO, said in last month’s announcement.
—Lorraine Mirabella Starbucks opens in E. Baltimore with training Starbucks opened a coffee shop Friday with a training focus near Johns Hopkins Hospital, the fifth in the chain’s U.S. initiative to offer jobs and training to youths in poor communities.
The shop with an in-store classroom opened in the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins in an office/lab building on Ashland Avenue, part of a larger project transforming 88 acres north of the hospital into homes, offices and shops. Starbucks announced plans for the East Baltimore shop in September.
Besides creating jobs, the store will work with local minority- and women-owned suppliers and offer courses in job readiness and training skills. Classes will be offered through The Choice Program, a nonprofit run by The Shriver Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County that focuses on delinquency prevention and youth development.
The store will employ three Choice Program graduates and 14 other Baltimore residents.
.
—Lorraine Mirabella Wal-Mart buys online clothing retailer ModCloth Wal-Mart has bought trendy clothing seller ModCloth, part of a big push to pick up smaller online brands as it tries to make headway against Amazon.
The company declined to specify the price on the deal that closed Friday, saying only that it was in the same range as its previous two purchases of online businesses.
Those were $51 million and $70 million. Many of ModCloth's devoted customers, fans of its vintage-inspired patterned dresses, inclusive sizing and community feel, expressed their disappointment on social media when they heard talk of a deal with Wal-Mart.
—Associated Press Justice Dept. won’t support consumer watchdog The Justice Department will not support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a court battle over whether the structure of the federal consumer watchdog is unconstitutional, according to court documents filed Friday.
The department also argued that the president should be able to remove the director of the independent agency at will, a shift that consumer advocates say could threaten the independent nature of the agency.
—The Washington Post
The JCPenney department store in Easton will close, likely by June, as part of the retailer’s plans to shut 138 stores nationwide.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. had announced plans last month to close two distribution centers and 130 to 140 stores in a move to cut costs and boost sales at stronger locations, but it had not disclosed specific locations.
The Easton store in the Easton Marketplace is the only closure in Maryland, according to a list JCPenney released Friday. JCPenney has six Baltimore-area stores.
About 5,000 workers will be affected by the national store closings, most of which are slated for June.
“We believe closing stores will ... allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers,” Marvin R. Ellison, JCPenney chairman and CEO, said in last month’s announcement.
—Lorraine Mirabella Starbucks opens in E. Baltimore with training Starbucks opened a coffee shop Friday with a training focus near Johns Hopkins Hospital, the fifth in the chain’s U.S. initiative to offer jobs and training to youths in poor communities.
The shop with an in-store classroom opened in the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins in an office/lab building on Ashland Avenue, part of a larger project transforming 88 acres north of the hospital into homes, offices and shops. Starbucks announced plans for the East Baltimore shop in September.
Besides creating jobs, the store will work with local minority- and women-owned suppliers and offer courses in job readiness and training skills. Classes will be offered through The Choice Program, a nonprofit run by The Shriver Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County that focuses on delinquency prevention and youth development.
The store will employ three Choice Program graduates and 14 other Baltimore residents.
.
—Lorraine Mirabella Wal-Mart buys online clothing retailer ModCloth Wal-Mart has bought trendy clothing seller ModCloth, part of a big push to pick up smaller online brands as it tries to make headway against Amazon.
The company declined to specify the price on the deal that closed Friday, saying only that it was in the same range as its previous two purchases of online businesses.
Those were $51 million and $70 million. Many of ModCloth's devoted customers, fans of its vintage-inspired patterned dresses, inclusive sizing and community feel, expressed their disappointment on social media when they heard talk of a deal with Wal-Mart.
—Associated Press Justice Dept. won’t support consumer watchdog The Justice Department will not support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a court battle over whether the structure of the federal consumer watchdog is unconstitutional, according to court documents filed Friday.
The department also argued that the president should be able to remove the director of the independent agency at will, a shift that consumer advocates say could threaten the independent nature of the agency.
—The Washington Post
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