Sony store closures likely good news for Best Buy

Sony's ( SNE) plan to close 20 of its 31 U.S. retail stores is likely good news for consumer electronics retailer Deal Of The Day ( BBY).

Consumers looking to buy Sony televisions, digital cameras, audio equipment and other gadgets will turn to independent retailers like Best Buy in the affected markets. In addition, Best Buy has been setting aside floor space for manufacturers looking to run product showcases and could do so for Sony.

On Thursday, Best Buy reported that it had opened 1,400 Samsung and 600 Microsoft ( MSFT) Windows stores-within-a-store as of Feb. 1. It also operates Apple ( AAPL) product showcases in its stores.

During the holiday season, Google ( GOOG) set up display tablets and end caps in 750 large-format Best Buy stores to show off Android tablets, Chromebook notebooks and Chromecast streaming video players.

On a conference call with analysts Thursday, Best Buy CEO hinted at more opportunities for product showcases from manufacturers. Among the company's priorities over the next 24 months is "to strengthen our vendor partnerships, including launching new vendor shopping experiences."

Could he be talking about Sony?

Sony announced its store closings on Wednesday, as part of a larger restructuring plan.

Five of the remaining 11 stores are located in California, with three in New York, two in Florida, and one in Texas, Sony announced.

The move will close two-thirds of Sony's U.S. retail stores and result in the lay off of 1,000 workers.

On Feb. 5, Sony said it would reduce its global workforce by about 5,000, or 3% of its staff, in its fiscal year ending March 31. It also announced plans to sell its Vaio PC business to Japan Industrial Partners.

Plus, Sony plans to split off its money-losing TV business as a wholly owned subsidiary and focus that business on high-end televisions, including 4K or Ultra HD TVs. Sony expects the TV business to return to profitability in fiscal year 2014, which ends March 31, 2015.

Sony has taken the actions to "maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market," the company said Wednesday.

While its consumer electronics business struggles, Sony appears to be doing well with its next-generation video game console, the PlayStation 4. The PS4 is the top selling next-gen console, outpacing rival Microsoft's Xbox One.

Best Buy stock was up more than 4% in late afternoon trading on the stock market today. Sony's U.S. shares up a fraction.

RELATED: Best Buy now an 'online first' retailer, CEO says.

Microsoft testing deals to boost Xbox One sales.

Sales in fourth quarter up in Virginia, on Peninsula

The end of 2013 saw a slight increase in taxable sales in Virginia, according to the latest data from the state's department of taxation.

Overall, taxable sales in Virginia - which includes categories such as retail, food, hospitals, manufacturing and real estate - increased by about 1.7 percent year-over-year between and Nov. 1, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2014.

The taxable sales report is published by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. The center posts quarterly and annual data dating back to 1996 Super Sale its website, coopercenter.org.

James City County saw a 6 percent increase year-over-year in the final quarter of 2013 and Suffolk posted a 3.3 percent increase.

Other counties and cities on the Peninsula saw increases, as well, but most were only slightly increased over 2012 numbers.

York, Hampton and Williamsburg, saw about a 1 percent increase in taxable sales year-over-year, while Gloucester, Newport News, Poquoson sales increased by about 2 percent. Isle of Wight County sales were largely flat.

No counties or cities on the Peninsula posted a decrease in sales.

Holiday sales increased by about 3.8 percent nationwide, according to the National Retail Federation. Retail sales, however, only account for a portion of the overall taxable sales report generated by the state.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that total sales from October to December increased by 1 percent, nationwide.

Paitsel can be reached by phone at 757-247-4737.

Famous Smoke Shop Publishes New Cigar Discount Promo Codes

Easton, PA (PRWEB) February 17, 2014

Famous Smoke Shop is an online distributor of discount premium cigars specializing in offering the web's widest cigar selection, best prices, and expert customer service. The company has just announced its release of new cigar discount coupons they will offer. Each Promotional Codes is applicable to any order made through the company's website or over the phone at 1-800-564-2486.

Starting now, Famous Smoke Shop will be offering a variety of new promotional codes to all of it's customers to receive bonus products or instant cash back off their cigar orders. Some of the coupons available are $20 off any order over $200, a 6-pack sampler with an order of $125 or more, bonus 5-packs, bonus boxes of cigars, a bonus ash tray with an order, and more. No matter what a customer wants to order, they are able to use a coupon on it to either save money or get free product.

Each order allows customers an opportunity to receive instant cash back or bonus items and every order may be able to include a coupon. This allows customers to customize their orders and get more for the money they spend.

Since the coupons were released, there has been a big splash at Famous Smoke Shop by customers rushing to take advantage of the deals. All of these deals and coupons are available not only on the web but through phone orders as well. People interested in learning more about the Outlet at Famous Smoke Shop can call 1-800-564-2486 or can log on to Famous-smoke.com. Customers should be advised that restrictions may apply on particular items, a full list of restrictions is available on the company's website.

About Famous Smoke Shop

Famous Smoke Shop is the nation's #1 discount retailer of premium cigars online, offering one of the largest selections of handmade cigars, machine-made cigars, cigar humidors and accessories. Famous offers the web's lowest prices on a wide selection of cigar brands including Acid, Davidoff, Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, Ashton, Padron, Oliva and Perdomo cigars, and many more. Famous offers their customers the best prices on all premium cigars as well as friendly and knowledgeable customer service.

Sides Trade Insults as Syria Talks End Without Deal

Homs Aid Remains Unresolved Amid Wrangling

by Jason Ditz, January 31, 2014

Though the talks dragged on for over a week, the Geneva II peace conference on Syria ended without any real deals on any issues of important, and both the Syrian government and the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) traded insults before leaving.

The issue that was closest to being resolved, the siege of central Homs, likewise remained totally unresolved, with UN officials saying both sides were slapping unrealistic preconditions on allowing aid in.

The Syrian government offered to let women and children leave, but said that men leaving would have to give their names at checkpoints, and this would almost certainly mean arrest, as has happened in previous cases where rebel-held areas were lost.

The SNC didn't necessarily have preconditions of its own, but the rebel fighters inside Homs did, threatening to attack UN aid convoys that try to enter the city on sight. They are opposing aid in general, and say they will only accept a Buy Cheap that allows everyone in the Old City area of Homs to leave, and take their weapons with them, to other rebel-held areas. Needless to say, that's also a non-starter.

The preconditions on this and other areas of discussion left both sides plenty of ammunition to declare the other uninterested in making peace, and foreign powers at the talks used this as a pretext to verbally bludgeon whichever side they opposed in the first place.

UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, whose efforts are the only reason the talks didn't end on the first day, says he believes there is still some common ground and room to negotiate, and he is trying to arrange a resumption of the conference on February 10. Whether this happens remains to be seen, but the Assad government is said to be non-commtital about any more talks, and after the trainwreck of this week, it's hard to blame them for being pessimistic.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz

Deals of the Day: Jelly spreads more VC

Venture Capital Deals

Fitmob, a San Francisco-based mobile app for finding local exercise workouts, has raised $9.75 million in venture capital and venture debt funding. Backers include Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank and individual angels. www.fitmob.com

iProf Learnings Solutions, an India-based digital education library, has raised $9.5 million in Series B funding. Hobsons PLC led the round, and was joined by return backers IDG Ventures India and Norwest Venture Partners. www.iprofindia.com

Cohera Medical Inc., a Pittsburgh-based developer of absorbable surgical adhesives and sealants, has raised $9.3 million in new Series D funding. No new investor information was disclosed. The company previously announced that it had raised $17 million in Series B funding from firms like Kern Whelan Capital. www.coheramedical.com

Jelly, the new social search app from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding. Greylock Partners led the round, and was joined by return backer Spark Capital. www.jelly.co

Whiteout Networks GmbH, a Munich-based developer of apps and cloud services for encrypted email communication, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from High-Tech-Gründerfonds and Bayernkapital. www.whiteout.io

Private Equity Deals

SunGard Data Systems Inc. announced that it will spin off its Availability Services business on a tax-free basis to existing shareholders, including its private equity owners. The Best Buy is expected to close by the end of Q1. SunGard was acquired in 2005 by a private equity consortium that included Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, KKR, Providence Equity Partners, Silver Lake and TPG Capital. www.sungard.com

Aqua Terra Water Management, a merchant operator of salt water disposal facilities, has acquired certain saltwater disposal assets from Ceiba Energy Services Inc. and Phyllis Disposal Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which helps Aqua Terra enter the Canadian Bakken. Aqua Terra is a portfolio company of Bregal Partners. www.bregalpartners.com

AVX Learning LLC, a portfolio company of Comvest Capital, has acquired Adayana Industry Group, an Indianapolis-based provider of organizational performance solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. www.adayana.com

The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Vogue International, a Tampa Bay, Fla.-based maker of brand hair care products. No financial terms were disclosed. www.vogueintl.com

China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd., a state-owned investment manager, is in talks with several private equity firms about a share sale that could raise more than $2 billion, according to Reuters. Suitors include Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, BlackRock and KKR. www.chamc.com.cn

Crestview Partners and B-29 Investments have acquired a control stake in Texoma Transportation & Crude Marketing LLC, a provider of crude oil purchasing, gathering and transportation services to the oil and gas industry. The deal was done in conjunction with Texoma's purchase of Edmond, Okla.-based CP Energy. No financial terms were disclosed. www.txtcm.com

Palladin Consumer Retail Partners has acquired KT Health LLC, a maker of kinesiology tape and related sports medicine products for the retail market. No financial terms were disclosed. www.pcrp.com

Pallet USA LLC, a portfolio company of Blackthorne Partners, has acquired most assets of Goeman's Wood Products Inc., a rival Milwaukee-area pallet operator. No financial terms were disclosed. www.palletusa.com

Rosser Capital Partners has acquired Hickory Tavern, a Charlotte, N.C.-based chain of casual dining restaurants. No financial terms were disclosed. Arlington Capital Advisors managed the process. www.thehickorytavern.com

Summit Materials has acquired both Alleyton Resource and its Colorado Gulf affiliate, which operates sand & gravel sites and ready-mix concrete plants. No financial terms were disclosed. Summit Materials was formed in 2009 by The Blackstone Group and Silverhawk Capital Partners. www.summit-materials.com

IPOs

Care.com, a Waltham, Mass.-based online care marketplace, raised $91 million in its IPO. The company priced 5.35 million shares at $17 per share (above $14-$16 range), for an initial market cap of approximately $554 million. It will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CRCM, while Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and BofA Merrill Lynch served as lead underwriters. Care.com had raised around $111 million in VC funding from Matrix Partners (22.24% pre-IPO stake), Trinity Ventures (14.39%), NEA (10.21%), Institutional Venture Partners (10.21%) and USAA (9.29%). www.care.com

Com Hem AB, a Swedish cable television and broadband operator, has held "preliminary talks" with sponsor BC Partners about an IPO, according to Bloomberg. www.comhem.se

Continental Building Products Inc., a Reston, Va.-based maker of gypsum wallboard and complementary finishing products, has set its IPO terms to 13.24 million shares being offered at between $16 and $18 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $749 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CBPX, with Citigroup and Credit Suisse to serve as co-lead underwriters. It reports $32 million of net income on $252 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2013, and is owned by Lone Star Funds. www.continental-bp.com

Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of protein-based biotherapeutics, has set its IPO terms to 4.3 million shares being offered at between $13 and $15 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $206 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol EBIO, with Citigroup, Cowen & Co. and Leerink Swann serving as lead underwriters. Shareholders include Third Rock Ventures (41.3% pre-IPO stake), Flagship Ventures (28.8%) and Jafco (18.4%). www.elevenbio.com

Genocea Biosciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of T-cell vaccines for infectious diseases, has set its IPO terms to 5.5 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $224 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol GNCA, with Citigroup and Cowen & Co. serving as co-lead underwriters. It has raised over $88 million in VC funding from Polaris Venture Partners (16.3% pre-IPO stake), Lux Ventures (14.8%), S.R. One Ltd. (13%), Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. (11.7%), CVF LLC (9.3%), Skyline Ventures (8.8%), Cycad Group (6.6%), Auriga Ventures (6.5%), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (6.2%) and Morningside Ventures. www.genocea.com

Rice Energy, a Canonsburg, Penn.-based E&P company focused on the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale, raised $924 million in its IPO. The company priced 44 million shares at $21 per share (high end of $19-$21 range), for an initial market cap of around $2.7 billion. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol RICE public offering on Tuesday for as much as $800 million of stock. The company plans to use the proceeds to finance drilling operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. www.riceenergy.com

Semler Scientific, a Portland, Ore.-based developer of medical devices that measure arterial blood flow, has set its IPO terms to 1.15 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $62 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SMLR, with Aegis Capital serving as sole underwriter. www.flochec.com

OTHER DEALS

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) has agreed to acquire a patent portfolio from Hewlett-Packard(Nasdaq: HPQ), which includes around 1,400 granted U.S. patents and pending U.S. patent applications, plus another 1,000 granted and pending patent applications from other counties. No financial terms were disclosed. Read more at Fortune.com

Sanofi (Paris: SAN) CEO Chris Viehbacher yesterday indicated an interest in repurchasing L'Oreal's (Paris: OR) 9% stake in Sanofi, during an interview with Reuters. He referred to such a deal as "very accretive" for Sanofi, although acknowledged that L'Oreal has not offered to sell the shares. The stake is currently valued at around $9 billion. www.sanofi.com

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VIDEO: Hands On With the LG G Flex for Sprint

LG's 6-inch phablet is coming to three U.S. carriers. We took a look at the sprint lte las vegas model.

LAS VEGAS–The LG G Flex is coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, and I got to spend some time with the Sprint model at CES. I'm very happy to say that it's pretty much the same as the international version, and that all three carrier models will appear the same, as well.

Why can't we take this for granted? When LG and Samsung phones have appeared on multiple carriers, they've often changed form or features. The Verizon version of the LG G2 has different rear buttons than the other three. The Sprint and AT&T LG Optimus G phones has completely different cameras. So it's a small victory for consumers when a phone appears in the same, flagship form on all of its carriers.

I did a full hands on with the Korean version of the G Flex and this one is very similar. It's still quite large, with its 6-inch screen. Its 720p screen looks just as good as many 1080p screens, in part thanks to the gentle curve that reduces reflectivity. It has a very large battery, and yes, you can bend it.

Sprint's version brings one special feature: the G Flex will support Sprint's new Spark LTE network, which offers higher speeds in some metro areas than the earlier Sprint LTE network.

I strongly suspect the G Flex will cost $299 with contract and $699 without, according to various sources. While the Korean version of the phone can cost up to $930, that won't be the case with the U.S. model, my sources said.

Watch the video below to take a look at the LG G Flex for Sprint in action.

Groupon Buys Ideeli At A Discount

<Discountp>In the latest sign that "flash sale" sites are struggling, Groupon bought Ideeli for $43 million in cash. This was a loss for Ideeli shareholders, considering the company received $107 million in venture capital from 2007 through 2013. Groupon, however, is known for finding discounts.

Ideeli sells "designer" goods via timed sales, similar to competitors Gilt Groupe, Rue La La and HauteLook. The site features a different selection of brands each day, available for up to 90% off. Ideeli has yet to turn a profit with this business model, and most recently operated at a $30 million loss.

Groupon, which sells coupons, says that it intends to keep Ideeli running as a separate website. Groupon also sees potential for synergies. "Ideeli extends our fashion presence and brings great relationships with many of the top brands in apparel," says Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofksy.

Sameet Sinha, analyst at B. Riley & Co., sees both opportunity and risk in the deal. On one hand, "fashion is one of the top categories for ecommerce and it should keep growing," says Sinha. Groupon is "potentially hoping to reduce the customer acquisition cost by using its own customers." Yet Sinha points out that the execution will be challenging because "flash sales have lost their momentum" and the unprofitable business "further dilutes Groupon's margins."

Investors appear skeptical of the transaction. Groupon's stock fell 5% on the acquisition news, closing the day at $11. Groupon, which has faced its own profitability challenges, has seen its stock rise 105% in the past year, partly due to optimism about its new CEO. Controversial founder, Andrew Mason, left the top post in 2013. Competitor LivingSocial also recently saw its chief executive step down.

Groupon expects to make more acquisitions, stating that they are "constantly evaluating growth opportunities across all of our business lines." Groupon has made dozens of acquisitions over the past four years. Its largest purchase was Korea's Ticket Monster, which Groupon purchased for $260 million earlier this month.

This is not the first time that daily deals and flash sales sites have combined forces. Gilt Groupe acquired Groupon competitor, BuyWithMe in 2011. It was folded into Gilt City, a similar Gilt property. The industries which were once oversaturated with competition, can only expect to see more consolidation.

HauteLook was purchased by Nordstrom for $270 million, in the flash sales heydey of 2011. Gilt Groupe has talked about an IPO for years, but has been reluctant to pull the trigger. A public offering was once the stated path for Ideeli. Groupon went public in 2011.