Events

In a case of art imitating life, Walmart stores are featuring a pallet display of paperback books featuring a fictional cowboy who competes in the real world Professional Bull Riders organization led by a former Walmart executive.

New York -- From indie favorites to mass-market British brands, here are seven retailers getting ready to make their U.S. brick-and-mortar debut:

1. Nasty Gal

More than 1,200 leaders from the toy and baby products industries gathered at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York to celebrate the 2014 Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund Gala.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Total Store Expo later this year.

The trade group said Bernanke would participate in the business program at its Total Store Expo on August 24 in Boston. Bernanke served as chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 through 2014 and oversaw the central bank during one of the nation’s most tumultuous financial periods.

Billund, Denmark – The Lego Group opens a new Legoland Discovery Center store at Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts, on May 23. The 44.000-sq.-ft. store will include two Lego rides, a 4-D cinema, and a large soft play area.

It will feature 11 attractions in total and be the sixth Legoland Discovery Center in the U.S. and 10th worldwide. The store is aimed at children ages 3-10, but minors must be accompanied by an adult.

New York – Macy’s Inc. beat Wall Street expectations with profits of $224 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, up 3.2% from $217 million in the same quarter the prior year.

Earnings rose even as sales fell 1.7% to $6.38 billion, from $6.39 billion. Same-store sales declined 0.8%. Increased operating income and decreased cost of sales helped boost net income, while severe winter weather took a toll on sales.

Unleashed by Petco is taking over the reins of the largest surfing dog competition in the United States. Fifty dogs are expected to participate in this year's Surf Dog competition, which will be held July 13 in Imperial Beach, Calif., adjacent to the pier.

Lowe’s hosted the competition for the past eight years. Unleashed by Petco is ready to take the helm and take things to “the next level.”

For a couple years now, outlet centers have been moving from the outskirts of cities closer and closer to downtown. Howard Hughes Corp.’s Outlet Collection at Riverwalk is the first to make it all the way downtown — into the center of the newly rebuilt New Orleans.

Slated to open on Memorial Day weekend, the former 200,000-sq.-ft. Riverwalk Marketplace has expanded into a 250,000-sq.-ft. outlet center following a $70 million redevelopment.