Strategy

New York -- When Macy’s reported a 4.2% May same-store sales gain on Wednesday, ahead of the rest of the pack, analysts wondered whether that would set the tone for the rest of the department store players. It did — and it didn’t.

New York -- Target and TJX Cos. both reported better-than-expected results in May, with a 4.4% and an 8% increase in same-store sales, respectively. Wall Street expected Target same-store sales to be up 3.5% in May and forecasted TJX sales to rise 5.3%.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — May sales at Fred's Inc. increased 6% to $152.1 million from $143.6 million in May 2011. Comparable-store sales for the month rose 1.3% compared with an increase of 0.2% in the same period last year.

Fred's total sales for the first four months of fiscal 2012 increased 4% to $652.6 million compared with $628 million for the same period last year. On a comparable-store basis, year-to-date sales increased 0.1% on top of an increase of 0.8% in the same period last year.

PHILADELPHIA — Pep Boys has put an end to the proposed merger between itself and investment firm The Gores Group.

The potential merger was first announced on Jan. 30, and The Gores Group has agreed to pay Pep Boys a fee of $50 million and to reimburse Pep Boys for certain merger-related expenses. The special meeting of Pep Boys’ shareholders, which was scheduled to be held on May 30, has been canceled.

Yankee Candle Company president and CEO Harlan Kent is the newest member of the specialty apparel retailer Rue21’s board of directors.

Rue21 is a rapidly expanding specialty apparel retailer that currently operates 810 stores in 46 states

Toys“R”Us chairman and CEO Jerry Storch and Nordstrom Direct president Jamie Nordstrom are among the featured speakers at the Shop.org annual summit.

The annual event organized by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, will be held September 10 to 12 and the Colorado Convention Center and is billed as the premier gathering for retail e-commerce, digital and multichannel retailers.

Target couldn’t have written a better script for last weekend’s Indianapolis 500, won by Dario Franchitti in the number 50 Target Honda.

Fans of the IndyCar racing series know that Franchitti’s Honda normally bears the number 10, but in recognition of Target’s golden anniversary the car and his uniform bore the number 50. Franchitti had won the Indy 500 on two prior occasions so the fact that he was running well throughout the day was no surprise.

Leawood, Kan. -- Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust said Wednesday it has completed the acquisition of One Nineteen, an outdoor retail center located in Leawood, Kan.

One Nineteen is adjacent to Glimcher’s Town Center Plaza and will add approximately 165,000 sq. ft. of GLA to the combined property.  Tenant sales at One Nineteen average more than $900 per sq. ft., and the center is currently 93% leased featuring Kansas City’s first and only Crate & Barrel and lululemon athletica, as well as an Apple store.

New York -- Winick Realty Group said that 7-Eleven has continued its plans for expansion in the New York market by leasing a new 2,300-sq.-ft. storefront at 1235 Second Avenue, on the corner of East 65th Street.

Chicago -- RKF announced that Steve Schwartz and Lara Keene have joined the firm’s Chicago office as directors.

Schwartz and Keene, formerly of Baum Realty Group, mark the latest additions to the RKF Chicago office, which opened this past April as part of the firm’s ongoing expansion into key urban markets nationwide.