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Energy-Efficient Lighting Saves Canadian Tire $6M in 2009
(EnvironmentalLeader.com - 2/8/2010)

Canadian Tire, a retailer of tire and automotive parts, gas stations and general merchandise and apparel, says it will be among the first Canadian companies to include their sustainability metrics in its quarterly and year-end financial reporting, according to its first Community and Business Sustainability Report.

hhgregg in Expansion Push
(online.WSJ.com - 2/5/2010)

The Indianapolis company will open 40 to 45 stores in the Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Baltimore areas in coming months as part of a broader plan to expand to 600 stores this decade from 127 currently.

Sport Chalet Collects Almost 1 Million Pairs of Shoes for Haiti
(LATimesBlogs.LATimes.com - 2/5/2010)

Sporting goods retailer Sport Chalet and shoe charity Soles4Souls joined forces Jan. 15 in an effort to collect footwear for victims of last month's devastating earthquake.

Borders is Still Hanging in There
(NYPost.com - 2/4/2010)

Bill Ackman boosted the share price of Borders by nearly 40 percent yesterday when he said a bankruptcy filing wasn't likely for the struggling book retailer. Skeptics said Ackman's hopes for consolidation are shrinking if he's referring to a possible merger with larger rival Barnes & Noble. The No. 1 bookseller has already passed on buying Borders.

Unexpected 1.2 Percent Sales Drop for Buckle
(SeattlePI.com - 2/4/2010)

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected predicted sales would rise 4.1 percent from the same month a year ago. Sales at stores that have been open a year or more, also known as same-store sales, provide a key snapshot of a retailer's performance because they exclude growth that comes solely from new locations.

Retail Sales Rise, But So Do Unemployment Claims
(Delmarvanow.com - 2/4/2010)

As merchants reported their sales figures today, several stores including Limited Brands and Macy’s announced solid sales increases. But Stage Stores Inc. and teen retailer Wet Seal suffered declines.

American Eagle May Close Martin + Osa Chain
(DDMagazine.com - 2/4/2010)

he cause of the speculation is reportedly due to comments made at an investment gathering last month by CEO James O'Donnell, as well as the departure of Martin + Osa President Laura Dubin Wander, who left the company in December to "pursue other opportunities."

Top 10 Eco-Friendly Retailers (Surprise: Includes Walmart!)
(MNN.com - 2/4/2010)

These retailers go the extra mile by selling eco-products and taking steps to green operations. Shopping 'til you drop just got a lot friendlier for the planet.

Esprit to Push ‘Upmarket’ Image as Chain Expands in China
(Businessweek.com - 2/3/2010)

The retailer, which sells jeans, blouses, accessories and cosmetics in more than 40 countries, is expanding in Asia, particularly in China, where it’s been operating for the past decade with a partner that it’s now buying out. Van der Vis also wouldn’t exclude the possibility of pulling out of markets where the Esprit has a small presence, saying “we’ve made some expensive mistakes.”

Bed Bath & Beyond Goes Hawaiian
(StarBulletin.com - 2/3/2010)

Bed Bath & Beyond will enter the Hawaii market in late summer with a 65,000 sq. ft. store in the old Circuit City building at Pearlridge Center.

Movie Gallery Goes Chapter 11, Will Shut 805 Stores
(Rueters.com - 2/3/2010)

Movie Gallery and four affiliates filed for protection on Tuesday with the U.S. bankruptcy court in the Eastern District of Virginia. Its Movie Gallery Canada Inc affiliate was not part of the filing.

Abercrombie & Fitch Hurting in US, Better Abroad
(online.WSJ.com - 2/3/2010)

Though US consumers have cooled toward Abercrombie & Fitch, the opposite is true with shoppers overseas. Late last year, the company opened Abercrombie megastores in Milan and Tokyo, both of which have performed well, as have Hollister mall-based stores in the UK.

Walmart, Target Put Squeeze on Redbox
(Businessweek.com - 2/3/2010)

Walmart has imposed strict limits on the number of DVDs any one customer can buy at a time, making it harder for movie-rental kiosks such as Coinstar's Redbox to get their hands on large numbers of newly released discs. The new rules took effect Feb. 1 and include a five-DVD cap on new releases.

Walking Co Sees Bankruptcy Exit "Sometime This Spring"
(Reuters.com - 2/2/2010)

In a court filing on Monday, the company said it had negotiated new lease agreements with landlords of about 90 of its 210 stores and that the move will generate annual cost savings of about $3 million. The retailer filed for bankruptcy protection in December, with a plan to close almost half of its stores.

Costco to Spend About $940 Million in Taiwan Expansion
(Reuters.com - 2/2/2010)

Costco's regional marketing manager for Taiwan, Nora Wang, declined to comment on specific details but said the company had a strong desire to invest in Taiwan

Christmas Tree Shops Making Texas Debut
(Dalls.Bizjournals.com - 2/2/2010)

Russell allows that he expects Christmas Tree Shops to have locations in Houston, Austin and San Antonio by year-end, but he declined to discuss specifics about how many Texas stores might be added this year. He also declined to discuss store sales or employee numbers.

Doc Popcorn Eyeing Major Expansion
(DailyCamera.com - 2/2/2010)

The retailer of all-natural popcorn plans to add 500 locations in the next five to 10 years. It's also teaming up with Maui Wowi Hawaiian -- the operator of 600 coffee and smoothie shops -- to offer Maui Wowi's approximately 350 franchisees the option of co-branding with Doc Popcorn.

Forever 21's New Prototype
(StyleBinge.com - 2/1/2010)

One of Forever 21’s about 500 stores worldwide, it is about twice the size of its previous flagship store in Pasadena and designed more in line with its image than its previous Mervyn’s conversions. “Cerritos is our new concept,” said Linda Chang, senior marketing manager. “It’s a prototype of the direction that Forever 21 is going into.”

Bloomingdale’s in Dubai is First Outside US
(MSNBC.msn.com - 2/1/2010)

"Bloomie's" Dubai outpost includes a 146,000 sq. ft. clothing and accessories store and a nearby 54,000 square foot home furnishings store. Both stores are in the Dubai Mall, next to the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa.

NRF Forecasts 2.5% US Sales Rise
(FT.com - 2/1/2010)

It forecast a 2.5 per cent rise in retail sales for 2010, excluding spending on cars, petrol and restaurants, compared with a 2.5 per cent fall last year.

New Upscale Shopping Site in Vegas Booms
(WWD.com - 2/1/2010)

When economic woes stalled the multibillion-dollar CityCenter development last year, the project’s fate was feared to be doomed. Since opening in December, however, the center’s Crystals shopping area has been a boon for luxury retailers that have set up shop there.

James Avery Opens Store in Live Oak, TX
(SanAntonio.Bizjournals.com - 2/1/2010)

James Avery is a family-owned jeweler that offers high quality, typically hand-crafted jewelry in sterling silver, gold and gemstones. James Avery operates a total of 54 stores across Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama.

Jerome's to Open Sixth Store, in Murrieta, CA
(FurnitureToday.com - 2/1/2010)

The 40,000 sq. ft. store will be the retailer's first in the Inland Empire region. The location is a former Levitz store in the Village Walk shopping center near Interstate 15.

P.C. Richard Entering Philly, Expanding In New England
(Twice.com - 1/29/2010)

P.C. Richard & Son will open its first Philadelphia-area stores and may add upward of five Connecticut locations this year as part of a planned expansion that could extend its reach from Delaware to Massachusetts.

Movie Gallery Mulls Chapter 11
(Blogs.Barrons.com - 1/29/2010)

Movie Gallery, which owns the Hollywood Video chain, is preparing to file Chapter 11 as soon as Tuesday, and could close two-thirds of its stores, the Wall Street Journal reports. That would mean the shutdown of 1,800 of the company’s 2,700 stores, and likely result in the loss of thosuands of jobs.

TJX Faces Tougher Times But Looks Ready for Them
(Industry.Bnet.com - 1/28/2010)

The assessment about its prospects shouldn’t be taken as a suggestion TJX is going to do poorly. It has carefully positioned itself to make the most of the recovery and the economy beyond.

Forever 21 Test Marketing Children's Wear
(OrlandoSentinel.com - 1/28/2010)

Trendy retailer Forever 21 Inc. has announced it is launching a new children's line on Friday that will be sold in select stores nationwide,

H&M Profit Up 21 Percent After Expansion
(News.BBC.co.uk - 1/28/2010)

H&M had 1,988 stores at the end of November, up from 1,738 a year earlier. It plans to open 240 new stores in the coming year. It will soon enter the Israeli market, with outlets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.

Golfsmith to Open Four Stores, Refurbish Others
(NewsBlaze.com - 1/28/2010)

In addition to the four new stores, Golfsmith will also retrofit several older stores to bring them up to date with the company's newest format and design which offers golfers a much greater opportunity to experience the game.

Recession Changing Face of Shopping Malls
(TheTimes-Tribune.com - 1/28/2010)

The traditional shopping mall, as retailers have known it for decades, finds itself at the mercy of consumers tightening their purse strings and looking for value and convenience, so many shopping malls across the nation turning to non-traditional tenants to fill a growing number of vacancies.

Walmart Streamlines, Combines Some Divisions
(CanadianBusiness.com - 1/28/2010)

The world's largest retailer is combining its US realty, store operations and logistics divisions to help the company become more efficient and lower its goods. US operations will be set up under three geographic business units:, West, South and North.

Stop & Shop - Shop for Groceries...and a House?
(ImagesFood.com - 1/28/2010)

The retailer has entered a five year deal with Re/Max from New England to open real estate offices in 15 of its Massachusetts supermarkets.

Home Depot Axes 1,000 Jobs
(WISN.com - 1/27/2010)

About 900 of the cuts stem from consolidating some support functions in its human resources, finance and other divisions. The rest come from the company closing a small-format pilot store in North Carolina; a temporary hurricane recovery outlet in Mississippi; and a clearance outlet in Georgia. There were no plans to close any full-size Home Depots.

Filene’s Basement Bankruptcy Gets OK
(BizJournals.com - 1/27/2010)

The Burlington, Mass.-based company, a former subsidiary of Columbus' Retail Ventures Inc., filed for bankruptcy reorganization in May. Discount retailer Syms Corp. and real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust paid $64 million for most of the company's assets, and will continue operating the retailer under new ownership and its familiar Filene’s Basement name.

Former Borders CEO to Lead A&P
(WISTV.com - 1/27/2010)

Marshall, 54, who had been with Borders for about a year, announced Tuesday that he was leaving to join another company. On Monday, Marshall will officially replace Christian Haub, who had served as interim CEO since Eric Claus left in October.

Target First Leading Chain to Nix Farmed Salmon
(FT.com - 1/27/2010)

Leading US retailers including Target’s rival Wal-mart and Whole Foods, the natural and organic supermarket, have started paying more attention to sustainability of sea-food purchasing over the past few years. Walmart plans to continue selling farmed fish, but has said it will eventually source all of its wild-caught sea food from fisheries certified as being “sustainable”

Sheplers Announces New CEO
(Kansas.com - 1/26/2010)

Gryphon, based in San Francisco, bought the western wear retailer in 2007. The company had 18 retail stores when it took over but has closed three since.

Borders' CEO Resigns
(MarketWatch.com - 1/26/2010)

Ron Marshall resigned as chief executive officer, president and director, effective immediately. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based book retailer said that Marshall is leaving to assume the post of CEO at another publicly held retailer.

Sam’s Club Outsources, Sheds 10 Percent of Jobs
(blogs.Reuters.com - 1/25/2010)

Sam’s Club will outsource rather than its own staff to essentially hand out food samples or demonstrate electronics to passersby, allowing Sam’s Club to let go of about 10,000 mostly part-time workers. Sam’s Club is also getting rid of about 1,200 staff responsible for recruiting new business members.

Target to Open Smaller Stores, Expand Outside U.S.
(Businessweek.com - 1/22/2010)

Target will most likely open its first international stores in Canada, Mexico or Latin America no earlier than 2013. And, according to its CEO, the discounter has a “compelling opportunity” to open smaller stores, and could test formats ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 sq. ft.

Pizzeria Uno Files Chapter 11
(Boston.Bizjournals.com - 1/21/2010)

The company has stated that the move will allow Uno to recapitalize, eliminate debt and invest in growth. According to the company, customers will not see any disruption in service.

C-Store Count Drops, But Not by Much
(CSP.net - 1/21/2010)

The number of U.S. convenience stores fell 0.2% over the past year and stands at 144,541 as of Dec. 31, 2009. Last year's count was 144,875. This is the second straight year the count has declined and only the fourth time in the last 15 years that the count has declined. The count reached a high of 146,294 stores two years ago.

Tesco Still Believes in Fresh & Easy
(CSP.net - 1/21/2010)

The UK's Tesco lost more than $250 million in 2009 on its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market concept in the US but its CEO believes it will ultimately be a success because convenience "is a relatively underinvested segment of retailing."

Liz Claiborne Sells 38 Canadian Stores to Laura Canada
(TorontoSun.com - 1/20/2010)

New York-based fashion house Liz Claiborne is selling 38 of its Canadian stores to Montreal-based retailer Laura Canada. The stores will be converted to either a Laura concept or Melanie Lyne store. Laura is aiming for about 170 stores across the country by the end of the year.

Jo-Ann Stores Promotes COO to President
(Ohio.com - 1/20/2010)

Travis Smith will retain the COO title and its responsibilities, which include overseeing marketing, merchandising, sourcing, inventory management, supply chain and store operations, the fabric and craft chain said in an announcement Tuesday.

Walgreens to Develop Prepared Meals
(RetailingToday.com - 1/19/2010)

Walgreens already offers wrapped sandwiches, frozen pizzas and a limited produce in some stores in urban "food deserts." But its plans to sell prepared meals and fresh foods in many of its stores marks a major commitment to the food category.

With Competitors Vacating, Retailers Eyeing Sites
(CrainsNewYork.com - 1/19/2010)

Prime real-estate and the ability to negotiate lease rates are attracting both national chains and smaller upstarts betting that better times are ahead.

24/7 Predicts Store Closings
(247WallSt.com - 1/19/2010)

The blog lists nine store chains it deems most likely to close a significant number of locations this year and an estimate of the number of outlets they will have to shutter.

Retail Shakeout Continues in 2010
(StarTribune.com - 1/19/2010)

Several once-stalwart Minnesota names are headed for extinction: B. Dalton Bookseller. Home Valu Interiors. National chains are shrinking, too. Waldenbooks soon will close 200 stores, and Jones Apparel will shut down 196.

Target's Offering TV Delivery, Installation
(ZDNet.com - 1/15/2010)

Target is partnering with Zip Express Installation for the service, which includes set-up, installation and demonstration. The service will be rolled out Sunday — in time for the Super Bowl.

Bernie's Files Chapter 11
(NorwichBulletin.com - 1/15/2010)

Bernie’s is asking for court permission to close its 15 stores, including one in Waterford. The company has outlets in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Clothing-Vending Machines Tested at GTA Locations
(TheStar.com - 1/15/2010)

While it's not unusual in Japan, or even India, to see everything from iPods to diamond rings sold this way, Mark's believes it's the first retailer in Canada to sell clothing through vending machines.

Some of the Ugliest Charts in Retail
(Caps.Fool.com - 1/15/2010)

Better inventory management, reduced promotional activity, and extremely easy comparisons to prior periods helped several retailers break multi-year losing streaks over the past few months...But many are still struggling and the bar charts reflecting the depths of their troubles are ugly indeed.

Cabela's Essentially Nixes Xanadu
(NJ.com - 1/15/2010)

According to a report on NorthJersey.com, an executive with the outdoor super-store told an investor conference it is "highly unlikely" the store will open this year "or probably ever."

Executive Shakeup at Zales
(Diamonds.net - 1/14/2010)

Troubled jewelry retailer Zale Corporation announced a shakeup of its upper management which includes the resignation of CEO, Neal Goldberg. Company president Theo Killion replaces Goldberg as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found. Two other executives will leave the company including chief stores officer, William Acevedo, and chief merchandising officer, Mary Kwan.

Delhaize Closing 16 Stores, Opening 120+
(Charlotte.BizJournals.com - 1/14/2010)

Belgian food retailer Delhaize Group will shutter 15 Food Lion and one Bloom store as part of a US restructuring. The company plans to focus on increased investments, accelerated store openings and cost reductions. It plans to open between 120 and 130 stores this year and remodel 100.

Genesco's Greener Checkouts
(EnvironmentalLeader.com - 1/14/2010)

Genesco recently replaced checkout terminals in more than 1,000 stores with units that are 40 percent more energy efficient than typical desktop computers used at checkout.

GameStop to spend $600 Million on 2010 Capital Allocation Plan
(CrispyGamer.com - 1/14/2010)

Under this plan GameStop would spend $300 million on a share repurchase program approved by its Board of Directors, spend $200 million on 400 new stores around the world and other capital expenditures, and reserve for $100 million for “acquisition activity.”

Uniqlo Wants More Stores in New York - and Fast
(JapanTimes.co.jp - 1/14/2010)

"We want to make sales from overseas operations four times as large as those from domestic operations in 10 years," Tadashi Yanai, chairman and president of Fast Retailing Co. In addition to the New York push, the company will place particular emphasis on Asian markets stretching from China to India.

Walgreens To Buy 25 Snyder's Stores
(WCCO.com - 1/14/2010)

A spokesperson for the pharmacy giant declined to say which stores would stay open as Walgreens and which would close. In the case of store closings, Walgreens plans to purchase Snyder's prescription files and transfer them to nearby Walgreens locations.

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