Dollar Tree, parent company of Family Dollar, will rebrand hundreds of its Deals stores into Dollar Trees or Family Dollars by next summer as it works to expand the combined company. Dollar Tree bought 138 Deals stores in March 2006 and has grown the chain to 222 stores in 19 states. Dollar Tree said it will…
GameStop has announced its brick-and-mortar locations will remain closed on Thanksgiving, the latest in a new trend this holiday that sees some retailers opting not to compete as aggressively for sales that day. Over the past several years, retailers have increasingly pushed back store opening times to kick off the holiday season. First they inched earlier and…
The National Retail Federation (NRF) announced today it expects sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to increase a solid 3.7 percent to $630.5 billion, significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent. Holiday sales in 2015 are expected to represent approximately 19 percent of the retail industry’s annual sales…
Two California supermarket chains have entered tentative deals to buy 36 Haggen stores in California and Nevada for a combined $92 million as the struggling grocer draws the final curtain on its Southwest operations. Haggen is also trying to stir up bids for an additional 96 stores — including six in Washington and Oregon that Haggen had…
Staples is taking a stance against a growing holiday shopping trend and will be closed on Thanksgiving this year, the company said Thursday. The retailer has been open on Thanksgiving the past two years, but this year it says customers and employees should have the chance to stay home with family and friends. Instead, Staples will…
Selfie walls! Wearables! 3-D printers! The newly renovated basement at Macy's massive flagship store in New York City's Herald Square is full of millennial buzzwords. It's called One Below, and the department store wants it to be a destination for young shoppers. One Below is part of a $400 million renovation at Macy's flagship location and…
The clothing chain Hollister will get rid of steps at its trademark entrances at dozens of stores across the U.S. to make the doorways wheelchair accessible as part of a settlement approved Thursday by a federal judge. The agreement marks the end of a six-year court battle involving the retailer that specializes in Southern California-inspired casual…
Like something out of a horror tale, an abandoned store in Paramus, N.J. has come back to life as a Halloween retailer. Spirit Halloween, a chain of more than 1,150 pop-up shops across the country, has reincarnated a former Staples store and filled it with 4,000 costumes and accessories, with themes ranging from zombies to superheroes…
In the months after Patrick Campbell lost his job, the one thing that kept him from losing hope was crafting wooden crosses. He made his first for his wife, a simple one, with their nine children helping. It was her birthday and he had nothing else to give. Her tears upon seeing the gift inspired him to…
With a renewed focus on its core customer, I believe J.C. Penney can regain market share in the coming year from weak competition like Sears, Kmart and Kohl’s. Shifting marketing dollars to a series of specialized catalogs, and developing departments targeted to specific consumers needs will be important in winning back customers and adding back…
