The once king of the retail loses his head-- CNBC reports JC Penney chops "Genius Bar" creator Ron Johnson out after all of 17 months as CEO, following his failure to turn the ailing retailer's fortunes around.

When you play the game of thrones you either win or you die, the HBO TV series tells us. A maxim that equally applies to the cutthroat world of high stakes retail!

Reportedly Johnson's plans of making an Apple out of JCP (via no-sale strategy, more fashionable merchandise and shop-in-shop investment) failed big time. Hedge fund manager William Ackman, the man behind his recruitment, describes Johnson's decisions as no less than "big mistakes" and "very close to a disaster."

"One of the big mistakes was perhaps too much change too quickly without adequate testing on what the impact would be," Ackman continues. Then again, didn't Johnson promise "a period of true innovation" for the retailer?

Following recent "strategic review" Darty closes down its loss making Spanish business, with 43 stores employing 650 employees to stop trading by June 2013.

The closure costs Darty around €30 million, including €16m pretax loss on sales and €10m in non-cash writeoffs.

“In Spain we have been growing market share and building our service credentials but we remain sub-scale," Darty chairman Alan Parker says.  "Significantly improving our position would be a long and potentially expensive journey with no guarantee of success in what we expect to remain a very difficult market."

Best Buy and founder Richard Schulze settle their differences-- Schulze returns as Chairman Emeritus, signalling an end to his attempts at buying the retailer back.

As a first decision Schulze names former CEO Brad Anderson and former president Al Lenzmeier as Best Buy boards members, effective immediately.

"Over the past several months, I have come to know and respect Hubert [Joly], and have a high regard for the work he and his executive team are doing to revitalize Best Buy," Schulze says. "My dedication to the company that I founded and love is unwavering and, together with Hubert and the Board, I determined that the best way to support Best Buy would be to return in support of the initiatives underway.”

Administrators Deloitte find rescue for the UK holdings of troubled rental chain Blockbuster-- private equity firm Gordon Brothers Europe via subsidiary TS 1973 Investment Holdings.

The investors give no financial details on the "substantial investment" saving 264 stores and over 2000 jobs across the UK and the Channel Islands.

"Blockbuster has a strong brand affinity and we believe that with the right mix of new product offering, new technologies, strategic management and marketing, we can Continue reading...

UK-based online mobile device accessory retailer Mobile Fun completes its "MF20" initiative and launches 20 international websites in early 2013.

Now the retailer has dedicated language and currency websites for 27 countries, and ships orders to over 50.

European Mobile Fun websites cover Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

The international sites make around 36% of Mobile Fun total Continue reading...

Metro confirms earlier reports of its giving up on the Chinese dream-- Media Markt China will close all 7 stores on March 11 2013 before operations shut down entirely on 30 April 2013.

The reason the retailer gives for leaving China is the "highly competitive market environment," the same reason cited by Best Buy after quitting the Chinese market in 2011.

Founded by Metro in 2010 in joint venture with Foxconn, Media Markt China was meant to open up to 100 stores by the middle of the decade following a 2-year test phase. However the current European economic situation, paired with flagging sales in the biggest Asian economy, meant the Group could no longer invest in the Chinese operation.

Best Buy USA counters the showrooming trend as it kicks off a "Low Price Guarantee" scheme on both online and brick and mortar stores-- effectively matching prices with all N. American and 19 online competitors.

Through the scheme the retailer promises it will match the prices of qualifying products should customers find lower prices on the likes of Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect and hhgregg, even if it will not match online prices with 3rd party vendors (aka Marketplace vendors) on online retailer websites.

Customers will also get matched prices post-purchase should Best Buy lower the price within 15 days of purchase.

Not on the price-matched online retailer list is eBay, which trades at great discount to Amazon.

"Best Buy is the only retailer to offer a Low Price Guarantee in addition to having a full range of the latest and greatest devices and services, a sales force dedicated to providing impartial and knowledgeable advice and full support for the life of the product," Best Buy claims.

9to5Google reports Google is planning stand-alone retail outlets in the US, if not beyond-- with hopes to open the first flagship Google Stores to customers by the holiday season.

According to "an extremely reliable source," Google wants to offer hands-on experience to its customers, just as the competition (Apple and Microsoft) already does.

Apparently Google Glass is the reason the company wants to push further into physical retail-- Google leadership believes potential customers will need Continue reading...