Retail Stores

When it comes to holiday shopping this year, good things will come to those who wait ... as long as they don't wait too long. That's because the days with the fewest shoppers and deepest discounts will occur after the Thanksgiving holiday and its famous "Black Friday."

Sears stores will open at 4 a.m. Black Friday, reversing last year’s decision to open on Thanksgiving Day. Sears stores will remain closed this Thanksgiving to give its store employees and their families the ability to celebrate the holiday.

The lines between Thanksgiving and Black Friday are blurring this year and some aren't happy about it. More than 15,000 people have signed a petition at Change.org asking Target not to open at midnight on Thanksgiving as planned and to open at 5 a.m. on Friday instead to allow workers to spend more time with their families.

Wal-Mart quarterly profit growth missed Wall Street's expectations, as the economy continues to weigh on customers at Wal-Mart. Still, key sales at those U.S. discount stores rose more than expected, reversing a string of nine quarterly declines.

Getting a jump on other retailers, Toys"R"Us is throwing open its doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. The toy retailer said it would issue its Thanksgiving weekend circular on Nov. 24, offering more than 100 deals on 28 pages in newspapers across the country.

Wal-Mart competes with almost everyone in retail, but increasingly suppliers see the giant focused on a new and, to some, surprising rival: Amazon. Wal-Mart could use a bigger dose of what gave Amazon 44 percent top-line growth last quarter.

Dillard’s reported that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 29 soared a record 85 percent to $26.6 million, compared with $14.4 million in the year-ago period. Strong comps and contained expenses propelled the strong performance.

Body Central reported that net income for the third quarter more than doubled to $2.8 million from $1.3 million a year earlier. Total revenue rose 18 percent to $67.1 million, compared with $56.9 million a year ago.

Another Spice Girl is following Victoria Beckham into the design world, if not at quite the same level yet. Emma Bunton has joined forces with Argos to create a 99-piece childrenswear line which will be available in January 2012.

Christopher & Banks announced that it will close about 100 underperforming stores over the next three months as part of a restructuring plan that also includes format consolidations and workforce reductions.