Jeffries was quoted in a Salon interview in 2006 as saying: “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely….”That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”

Though he said the words several years ago, they’re coming back to haunt him now after resurfacing during promotion for a book called “The New Rules Of Retail” by Robin Lewis and Michael Dart. The authors reference the fact that A&F don’t offer XL sizes in their stores, which has garnered a petition on Change.org. Now, the fact that the company openly admits to having exclusionary practices has enraged many, including celebrities.

“Abercrombie clothes are for people who are cool and look a certain way and are beautiful and are thin’ and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That would make me never buy anything from Abercrombie,” Alley said. “I’ve got two kids in that bracket, but they will never walk in those doors because of his view of people — forget women, his view of just people.”

Jeffries’ comments have received so much backlash that a filmmaker, Greg Karber, went on a mission recently to find A&F clothing at Goodwill stores and donated every piece he found to homeless people in his city. So far, Jeffries has had no comment.

“What happened was that a limited beta version of the app that we’re announcing today slipped out into the store for a short period and was quickly taken down,” a spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews.

The official announcement is now out, and it’s really the new Breadcrumb POS. It’s a free iPad app for eateries, salons, spas and retail merchants to “replace their outdated cash registers”.

“Breadcrumb POS expands the number of merchants currently served by the company’s Breadcrumb family of POS products from restaurants and bars to include all brick-and-mortar businesses,” the company says.

“With this launch we can help every local business replace their outdated cash registers with a modern, affordable, money-saving tool that allows them to save on credit card transaction fees and run their businesses better,” said Mihir Shah, VP Merchant OS at Groupon. “The successful adoption of Breadcrumb Pro by restaurants and bars has been very encouraging, with some of the finest venues in the country using it to run their businesses. As a result, we decided to launch Breadcrumb POS and bring the power and simplicity of this product to more merchants.”

Rates are 1.8 percent plus $0.15 per transaction (MasterCard, Visa and Discover) with no hidden costs or monthly fees. Processing is free on the first $5,000 in credit card transactions (promotional offer).

More on the offering here.

The ad, which has since been set to private on YouTube, said, “It’s no secret, recently JCPenney changed. Some changes you liked and some you didn’t, but what matters with mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing, to listen to you. To hear what you need, to make your life more beautiful. Come back to JCPenney, we heard you. Now, we’d love to see you.”

Now, they’re out with a new ad. Instead of “I’m Sorry,” the message this time is, “Thank you.” In fact, the title of the video is simply, “Thank You”.

“At JC Penney, we never stop being amazed by you,” the ad says. “How you work so hard without looking like you do, how you make every dollar stretch so far, and keep your family so close, so we brought back the things you liked about JC Penney, gave you new things to explore, and now, we’re happy to say, you’ve come back to us. We’re speechless, except for two little words.”

They’re still promoting the hashtag #jcpListens. You can see how they’ve been working social media here.

JC Penney has put out a video apologizing for alienating loyal customers, and essentially begging them to come back.

Will it work? Let us know what you think in the comments.

The basic gist goes like this: We did some stuff that upset you, and we’re acknowledging that we screwed up (without saying specifically what we screwed up exactly). But you have to admit, you liked some of the stuff we did. Right? Anyway, please, please, please come back and shop with us again.

The actual wording goes: “It’s no secret, recently JCPenney changed. Some changes you liked and some you didn’t, but what matters with mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing, to listen to you. To hear what you need, to make your life more beautiful. Come back to JCPenney, we heard you. Now, we’d love to see you.”

As you’re probably aware, JC Penney brought in CEO Ron Johnson a couple years ago, who decided to push for a wealthier customer base, and got rid of the store’s sales (which obviously didn’t sit well with the regulars). Recently, Johnson stepped down, and the company brought back the guy they had before him (Mike Ullman).

So, they’re sorry.

Last year, the company reportedly lost about a third of their customers because of the whole thing. A third. On top of that, holiday sales dropped 32%. No wonder they’re apologizing.

When Ullman’s appointment as CEO was announced last month, the company described him as a “highly accomplished retail industry executive.”

“We are fortunate to have someone with Mike’s proven experience and leadership abilities to take the reins at the Company at this important time,” said Thomas Engibous, Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. “He is well-positioned to quickly analyze the situation jcpenney faces and take steps to improve the Company’s performance.”

“While jcpenney has faced a difficult period, its legacy as a leader in American retailing is an asset that can be built upon and leveraged,” Ullman said at the time. “To that end, my plan is to immediately engage with the Company’s customers, team members, vendors and shareholders, to understand their needs, views and insights. With that knowledge, I will work with the leadership team and the Board to develop and clearly articulate a game plan to establish a foundation for future success.”

The new ad is certainly a good first step towards the engagement he speaks of. People are indeed engaging. The company has been promoting the ad and the mantra “#jcpListens” all over social media, and has been rigorously responding to customers. Here’s a snapshot of just the last hour on Twitter alone:

They’ve also been running polls on Facebook (hat tip: Business Insider), and further engaging with customers. Earlier this week, for example, they asked fans what their favorite JC Penney brand is:

With St. John’s Bay clearly leading the charge, they also announced that the brand (cut under Johnson) will be returning:

Of course it’s going to take a little more than social media to truly turn things around for the company. Luckily, they recently got a five-year $1.75 billion loan from Goldman Sachs. The company said the money will be used to fund “ongoing working capital requirements,” “general corproate purposes,” and part of its debt.

“This loan facility is an important component of our strategic plan to strengthen the Company’s financial position,” said CFO Ken Hannah. Together with our revolving credit facility, this will give us the financial strength we need to meet our current funding requirements and build toward a successful future.”

Will JC Penney win back customers with its new efforts? Share your thoughts in the comments.

“Earlier this year, we increased our revolving credit facility in anticipation of operating, working capital and capital expenditure needs, especially during the first half of the year,” said Ken Hannah, CFO for J.C. Penney. “As we near completion of the home department transformation in over 500 stores, we have been undertaking and will continue to experience a significant inventory build and increase in capital expenditures.”

J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson stepped down last week after just over one year with the company. Johnson had attempted to move the retail company away from the modern department store strategies of constant sales and coupons. The strategy did not succeed, and J.C. Penney stock and revenue fell while debt rose. The company is now estimated to be more than $3.5 billion in debt.

“While jcpenney has faced a difficult period, its legacy as a leader in American retailing is an asset that can be built upon and leveraged,” said Mike Ullman, who replaced Johnson as acting CEO. “To that end, my plan is to immediately engage with the Company’s customers, team members, vendors and shareholders, to understand their needs, views and insights. With that knowledge, I will work with the leadership team and the Board to develop and clearly articulate a game plan to establish a foundation for future success.”

J.C. Penney’s pricing strategy has already begun to shift. The retailer is issuing coupons, and clothing prices are expected to rise in preparation for sales.

Adobe told multiple outlets today that it will be discontinuing its retail offerings of Creative Suite 6 and Acrobat. An Adobe spokesperson provided the the following comment to TechHive:

“As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite and Acrobat products. Electronic downloads for Creative Suite and Acrobat products will continue to be available—as they are today—from both Adobe.com, as well as reseller and retail partners. We are in the process of notifying our channel partners and customers, as plans solidify in each region.”

Since last year, Adobe has put considerable marketing muscle behind its Creative Cloud subscription service. For $49.99 a month, subscribers get access to all the software included in CS6 alongside development tools for games and Web pages.

Phasing out its retail presence makes perfect sense as Adobe pushes for more subscribers. After all, a few hundred thousand subscribers paying $50 a month for years to come will make them far more money than single time purchases of CS6.

So, what if you really want to own a boxed retail copy of CS6? TechHive says that stores will carry boxed copies of CS6 until April 30. After that, you’ll either have to buy digital copies or sign up for a Creative Cloud subscription.

Microsoft announced today that it will be launching a retail version of Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition in stores on April 30. The new retail version of the game will include all the latest features of its digital counterpart including the ninth title update that’s on the way.

The retail version will be identical to the digital version in every way. That means retail players will be able to play online with those who only own a digital copy. As expected, the retail copy will also receive all future updates.

There’s no word on if the retail copy will come with any special features or extras, but it would be a great opportunity on Microsoft’s part to encourage those who already own the digital version to buy the retail version. Minecraft diehards will probably pick up the retail release anyway, but a little something extra – like a download code for the Minecraft documentary – definitely wouldn’t hurt.

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition will launch in the U.S. on April 30 for $20. Gamers in Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan will be getting it in early June.

Facebook has been suggesting that you give gifts to your friends on their birthdays and when they get engaged or married for some time. That’s not what we’re talking about here. Facebook has just begun to add a “give gift” button inside statuses that feature some sort of keyword trigger. For instance, we’ve spotted the new feature inside statuses about new babies, new jobs, and more.

Now, it looks like Facebook is really hammering the gift idea home by suggesting you give gifts to your friends that are simply in the middle of a big life event, even inside statuses that have nothing to do with said life event.

Let me explain:

My friend just had a baby. Yesterday (congrats!). As expected with Facebook’s new feature, a “give a gift” button appeared on one of her statuses last night. It said something about the baby and quoted his measurements. It’s clear that those keywords tipped Facebook to suggest that I give them a gift in celebration.

But today, I noticed that another one of her statuses had the “give a gift” prompt inside of it. This status has absolutely nothing to do with the baby or any other big life event, for that matter. See?

So, it appears that Facebook is giving people who announce big life events some sort of blanket congratulatory period. And inside that period, even statuses that don’t actually reference the life event will still come equipped with the suggestion that their pals give them a gift.

Clever move, Facebook.

No date has been set for the store closures, but individual stores will be closing in the next four to six weeks. Adding in the other closures, HMV will be left with just over 100 stores in the U.K. The individual stores to be closed have been announced:

Ashford, Basildon, Bolton, Cheltenham, East Kilbride, Enfield, Folkestone, Glasgow Argyle, Gloucester, Grimsby, Hatfield Galleria, Heathrow T5 Departure Level, Heathrow Terminal 1, Heathrow Terminal 3, Heathrow Terminal 4, Hemel Hempstead, High Wycombe, Isle of Wight, Lancaster, Leadenhall, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Newbury, Newcastle Silverlink, Newport, Nuneaton, Redditch, Salisbury, Scarborough, Southport, Stafford, Staines, Stockport, Swindon, Taunton, Torquay, Woking.

Word of the extra closures comes via Deloitte, which was chosen to administrate HMV in Jaunary after the company failed to come to terms with its creditors. Administrators appointed by Deloitte are currently restructuring the retailer for a possible sale.

“As part of our ongoing review of HMV’s financial position, we have undertaken a further review of the store portfolio and have identified an additional 37 stores for closure,” said Nick Edwards, joint administrator of HMV. “This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of the restructured business continuing as a going concern. Together with the previously identified 66 closures, this restructuring will result in a residual portfolio of some 116 stores.

“We are extremely grateful to the staff for their continued strong support and commitment during an understandably difficult period. All other key stakeholders including suppliers and landlords remain supportive and we appreciate their ongoing assistance.”

That holiday-time policy must have paid off for the big box retailer, because Best Buy today announced that it is making online price-matching an official policy.

The company announced this weekend that it will implement the policy at its physical stores and its online store starting March 3. Best Buy will match local retailer prices, as well as the prices of 19 “major online competitors,” including Amazon.com, Apple.com, Bhphotovideo.com, Buy.com, CircuitCity.com, CompUSA.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, hhgregg.com, HP.com, HomeDepot.com, Lowes.com, Newegg.com, OfficeDepot.com, OfficeMax.com, Sears.com, Staples.com, Target.com, TigerDirect.com, and Walmart.com.

The price-matching isn’t automatic, however. Customers will have to request the lower prices, and not every product in Best Buy stores is covered. Music, movies, phones, digital downloads, pre-orders, and refurbished products that can only be found in Best Buy’s online store will not be price-matched.

Best Buy is touting its customer service as an advantage over online retailers. Whether or not this is true, the retailer will have to continue implementing tough policies such as price-matching to prevent the company from going the way of the now-defunct Circuit City.