Strategy

New York City -- Macy’s announced that its namesake stores across the country will open at midnight on Nov. 25, the midnight of Thanksgiving night, to kick off the 2011 holiday shopping season. It is the first time that Macy’s has opened its doors chainwide at midnight. The company’s Bloomingdale’s unit will open its doors on Black Friday at 8 a.m.

Last year, Macy's opened eight stores at midnight. The rest of the stores opened at 4 a.m.

New York City -- Walmart is scaling back from its round-the-clock, 24-hour operating schedule at select U.S. locations, according to USA Today.

The decision on whether to keep stores open 24 hours is a store-to-store decision, the report said, and does not mean the chain as a whole is retreating from its 24-hour format.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Earth911, an organization that gathers, distributes and analyzes localized recycling information to assist manufacturers, organizations and consumers with product end-of-life solutions, announced that Patricia Kimball, Ph.D., has joined the company as VP retail strategy group.

“Her understanding and experience with implementing end-of-life solutions is directly relevant to Earth911’s corporate mission and goals. We’re thrilled to have Patty join our team of experts.”

Austin, Texas -- NewComLink announced that Zale Corp. has implemented the NewComLink platform as part of its new program to provide alternative financing options to its U.S. customers.

Zale announced the new alternative financing program on Aug. 31.

NEW YORK — Macy's announced that, for the first time ever, it will open its stores at 12 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, to give shoppers a jump on Black Friday.

According to the company, its Black Friday sale will include door-buster deals on hundreds of items from electronics to jewelry, and even a limited-edition fragrance gift set from Justin Bieber featuring his holiday CD and an exclusive bonus track. 

AUSTIN — Whole Foods is supporting Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign with several promotions:

• Whole Foods will match donations up to $25,000 of funds donated online, WholeFoodsMarket.com/holidays, to the cause;

• When shoppers purchase gift cards from Nov. 16 through Dec. 31, Whole Foods will donate $1 for every card purchased to No Kid Hungry;

Richmond, Va. -- Charlotte, N.C.-based Crosland Southeast said it broke ground Friday on Richmond MSA’s newest multi-use development, Stonebridge, which will occupy the site of the former Cloverleaf Mall in Chesterfield County, Va.

The first phase of Stonebridge includes the construction of 144,000-sq.-ft. of retail space – most notably, a 123,600-sq.-ft. Kroger Marketplace grocery store that will be the region’s largest and the company’s most expensive to date.  

New York City -- A report released Friday by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan found that consumer confidence in the United States rose unexpectedly in October, a signal that an economic recovery process may still be intact.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment climbed to 60.9 from 59.4 in September, beating Bloomberg News economists’ projections of a drop to 58.

The preliminary reading for the month was 57.5.