Bloomberg With the pandemic intensifying the plight of US retailers, companies from J Crew Group Inc to the owner of Ann Taylor are using Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings to quickly get out of costly, long-term leases and shutter thousands of stores. By seeking court protection, firms like Neiman Marcus Group Inc and the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse avoid the …

Bloomberg Macy’s Inc was targeted in one of the first lawsuits against users of the controversial facial-recognition software made by startup Clearview AI. An Illinois woman filed a proposed class action against Macy’s in federal court in Chicago, alleging the department store chain violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act by using Clearview software to identify shoppers from security-camera footage. …

Bloomberg Mall operator Simon Property Group Inc. has been in talks with Amazon.com to turn some empty store space formerly occupied by anchor tenants such as JC Penney Co Inc and Sears Holdings Corp into Amazon fulfillment centres, Dow Jones reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions started before the coronavirus pandemic, with the two companies exploring the …