Hallmark to adjust feel of retail stores

Hallmark Cards Inc., the nation’s largest greeting cards maker, is in the midst of revamping the look of its network of Gold Crown retail stores, company chairman and chief executive officer Don Hall Jr. said Wednesday.

Hall told a business group that the Kansas City, Mo.-based company was trying to separate itself from other card shops by changing store signs, decor, store layout and even product mix to better reflect Hallmark’s sentimental philosophy.

Privately held Hallmark stressed that most consumers wouldn’t notice the changes for several years. Hallmark has a plant in Lawrence.

Lawsuit

Morgan Stanley owes $1.4 billion

Morgan Stanley must pay billionaire financier Ron Perelman more than $1.4 billion in damages after a Florida jury found clear evidence the investment firm acted fraudulently in Perelman’s 1998 sale of his Coleman camping gear company to Sunbeam Corp.

The jury on Wednesday gave Perelman $850 million in punitive damages, on top of the $604.3 million in compensatory damages given Monday.

Morgan Stanley plans to appeal.

Bankruptcy

Monthly loss narrows at Interstate Bakeries

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, reported Tuesday losing $6.35 million during the four weeks ending April 2, its smallest monthly loss since November.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate Bakeries filed for Chapter 11 protection in September, blaming low sales and fixed operational costs.

Internet

Sprint hires marketer

Hoping to increase the number of customers it gets through the Internet, Sprint Corp. said Wednesday it would use an outside contractor to handle the bulk of its online marketing and sales operations.

The deal with InPhonic Inc. begins at the end of the month.