Events

Columbus, Ohio – Lane Bryant officially reopens its store at the West Towne mall in Madison, Wis. on Friday, Oct. 4 with a new look. On the same day Lane Bryant opens a new store in Houston.

The store will celebrate its grand opening at both stores from Oct. 4 through Oct. 6. Customers who shop at those location during the weekend will be able to enter for a chance to win one of 150 $25 Lane Bryant gift cards.

Denver — Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage has announced the grand opening of a second store in Tulsa, Okla., on Oct. 22.

The store will have its first free cooking class at noon on opening day, with nationally recognized nutrition expert Cary Tamburro, BS, making “Smoothies to Jump Start Your Health.”

The 2014 International CES will feature a new exhibit area called “FashionWare,” focused on the latest innovation in wearable technology, event organizers announced.

Scheduled for January 7-10 in Las Vegas, the CES show, the timing is right for the FashionWare concept because the worlds of apparel, accessories and technology are becoming integrated, so much so in fact that event organizers are planning a wearable technology fashion show.

Purchase, N.Y. — The March of Dimes Greater N.Y. Chapter and the Real Estate Award Breakfast Committee have named National Realty & Development Corp. as the 2013 Real Estate Award recipient.

This year marks the 26th annual Real Estate Award Breakfast and the 75th aAnniversary of the March of Dimes. The breakfast will be held November 14 at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in White Plains.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects holiday sales to increase 3.9% to $602.1 billion, up slightly from last year’s 3.5% increase. The forecast is higher than the 10-year average holiday sales growth of 3.3%.

The group noted, however, that its forecast hinges “on Congress and the Administration's actions" over the next 45 days as the government shutdown entered a third day

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation’s Shop.org expects holiday sales to grow between 13%-15% from last holiday season to as much as $82 billion.

“Online and mobile continue to be a leading area of growth for retailers. In this economy savvy, cost-conscious consumers go to the web to do their research and get the best bang for their buck,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.

Montreal — Simon Property Group, SmartCentres and Calloway REIT hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 2 to begin construction of Premium Outlets Montreal, the second Premium Outlet Center in Canada.

The National Retail Federation showed its Christmas spirit on Thursday by releasing a holiday forecast that calls for sales to increase 3.9% to $602 billion and assumes the President and Congress will be able to resolve their differences.

NRF’s forecasted growth rate of 3.9% is a solid figure and well above the 3.3% average growth rate of the past 10 years and ahead of last year’s 3.5% gain. In addition, the trade group’s Shop.org digital division forecast that online sales would grow between 13% and 15% to roughly $82 billion.