Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO — Williams-Sonoma will open its first store in Quebec, Canada, on Nov. 3. Located at Carrefour Laval in Laval, Quebec, the new store marks Williams-Sonoma’s eighth location in Canada, and will be the first to showcase a brand new store design.

Seattle -- Nordstrom said it plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in Birmingham, Ala. This will be the retailer's first location in the state.

The approximately 35,000-sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2013 at River Ridge Shopping Center. The center is owned and operated by DDR Corp.

LOS ANGELES — Guess? Inc. announced tht its COO, J. Michael Prince; and SVP and CFO, Dennis Secor.  Both are leaving to pursue other interests. Prince will remain with the company until Nov. 26 and Secor will remain with the company until Dec. 7.

Paul Marciano, CEO, stated, "We wish Michael and Dennis well in their future endeavors and thank them for their contributions to our company. Given the depth of our management team, we expect a very smooth and orderly transition."

Dallas -- 7-Eleven announced that it has acquired the retail and wholesale dealer assets of San Antonio-based Tetco, closing a deal that was announced Aug. 14.

The assets include 163 company-operated convenience stores in Utah and the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas of Texas.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition signals a return to San Antonio for 7-Eleven, where the company had operated stores until 1989.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation is continuing its fight against credit card swipe fees by asking a judge to reject a proposed class-action settlement of a federal antitrust lawsuit, saying it would not bring the fees charged by Visa and MasterCard under control and does not give retailers who oppose it an adequate mechanism to opt out.

By Chris Merritt, Ryder

Natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy are devastating. They impact people’s lives and livelihood. In addition, as we’ve learned from recent years, they can result in significant supply chain disruptions. Following the storm, we are seeing three issues impacting retail supply chains – power, fuel, and people.

Matthews, N.C. -- Harris Teeter Supermarkets reported Friday a profit of $22.8 million in its fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $8.9 million last year.

Sales edged up 3.7% to $1.14 billion, and same-store sales increased 3.01%.

The grocer has introduced a new format and banner – 201central – that it is using as a platform to sell a global variety of wine, beer, specialty foods and other selected merchandise.

Plans for fiscal 2013 include 12 new stores and nine major remodels.

Appliance and consumer electronics retailer HH Gregg, reported second quarter result on Friday that weren't as bad as expected.