Outdoor gear retailer North Face will close its corporate office and all 113 stores on Monday to give employees and customers a chance to celebrate Earth Day outdoors. The brand has joined a coalition of 16 organizations backing a petition to make the day a global holiday.

Sears Holdings has filed a lawsuit against Edward Lampert, hedge fund ESL Investments and others including former ESL executive and current Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The suit alleges that Lampert and the others named gained about $2 billion through the sales of key assets, including Sears Hometown Outlet and Lands' End, while Sears' losses deepened and ultimately led to its bankruptcy filing.

Trader Joe's has landed the top spot on Forbes' list of America's Best Large Employers, with Costco taking fourth place and Wegmans in 19th. Trader Joe's has never had a layoff in the more than 50 years since it was founded and offers a fun, supportive environment, says executive Jon Basalone.

Convenience retailer 7-Eleven has opened a 700-square-foot store between the stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys and Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. The small-format store will operate under limited hours to serve fans on game days and during other events, executive Charles Bantos said.

Women in the US are buying more jeans, and more than half their denim purchases are discounted, according to a report from NPD Group. Fit was a factor as consumers purchased about 80% of their jeans in stores last year, but online purchases also grew 32%, the report found.

Giant Food's pharmacy is adding fruit and vegetables to its prescription options at a store in Washington, D.C., as part of a program called Produce Rx. The program, which is available to certain Medicaid recipients, provides produce prescriptions for diet-related chronic illnesses and a weekly $20 coupon for buying fresh fruits and vegetables.

The beauty category generates about one-third of duty-free sales, according to NPD Group, and brands including L'Oreal and the Shiseido Group have seen travel retail sales grow in recent years. Shiseido is courting travelers with Nars Lip Gallery popups in airports in Thailand, Japan and China, which feature free beauty demonstrations and augmented reality capabilities.

A retailer's next crisis could be right around the corner. Judy Smith, founder and president of Smith & Company and the inspiration behind the hit TV series "Scandal," will provide insight and expertise on crisis management issues during her keynote at the NRF PROTECT conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 11-13. Learn more and register.

About 65% of consumers say that tradition is the top reason they shop around Easter. Source: NRF's 2019 annual Easter Spending Survey.

With a background that includes innovations like the interactive mirrors found at US retailers such as Rebecca Minkoff and Ralph Lauren, Zivelo CEO Healey Cypher is helping create the behind-the-scenes tech that brings the best of the online world into physical retail. On this episode of NRF's Retail Gets Real podcast, Cypher discusses what retail in the future will look like and how Zivelo is working with retailers today. Listen.

Schlotzsky's has renovated 40 of its restaurants with the new Schlotzsky's Austin Eateries format and will complete the process at the remaining 337 units by the end of the year, President Kelly Roddy said. Changing over to the more upscale design, which also features a new menu, has fueled an average sales increase of 9%.