Puget Sound

Puget Sound Business Journal by , Staff Writer Drugstore CEO Dawn Lepore Drugstore.com is in shopping mode. The Bellevue-based company, which just acquired Salu, operator of the skinstore.com website for skin creams and cosmetics, is planning more acquisitions, according to CEO Dawn Lepore. Lepore told Bloomberg BusinessWeek the company is looking for other businesses in its core product areas of vitamins, vision and beauty products — specifically deals in the $40 million to $60 million range. “I want to take over businesses that are in our sweet spots,” Lepore said. "Acquisitions should be an ongoing part of our strategy.”

Costco may expand its operations to Europe soon, and is mulling opening stores in Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Bloomberg reports James Murphy, international executive vice president for the Issaquah,Wash.-based retailing giant, said the company hasn't decided which European country will be first for its expansion there, and the first European store won't open for the "next couple of years."

Puget Sound Business Journal Amazon.com Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Santa Cruz firm PredPol helps predict, prevent property crimesMadrona Venture Group to invest 0M in Pacific NW startupsMadrona Venture Group to invest 0M in Pacific NW startups Follow this company will reporteldy open its Appstore in Europe sometime this summer, and the Seattle online retailing giant is also getting close to offering its Kindle Fire tablet for sale in Europe as well. The Wall Street Journal's All Things D reports the European move will be the first

Puget Sound Business Journal Amazon.com Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Latest from The Business Journals 'MIB 3' unseats 'Avengers' at box officeVance Corp. sells Plaza 600 building in Seattle's South Lake Union for .9MAmazon cuts ALEC ties Follow this company and Independent Publishers Group (IPG) have settled a three-month long dispute over electronic books. Publishers Weekly reports terms of the deal between Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and IPG weren't disclosed. In February, Amazon pulled nearly 5,000 e-book titles from its site in a dispute with IPG, the second-biggest independent publishers group in the