Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Nearly one-third of retailers surveyed by JLL say they plan to open on Thanksgiving Day in order to get a jump on Black Friday sales.

JLL’s 2015 Holiday Sentiment Report, which includes feedback from largely national or global retailers in JLL-managed shopping centers across the United States, also reveals more than half of those retailers expect an uptick in shopper traffic this year.

Nearly one-third of retailers surveyed by JLL say they plan to open on Thanksgiving Day in order to get a jump on Black Friday sales.

JLL’s 2015 Holiday Sentiment Report, which includes feedback from largely national or global retailers in JLL-managed shopping centers across the United States, also reveals more than half of those retailers expect an uptick in shopper traffic this year.

Target is taking steps to right-size its portfolio by closing 13 money-losing stores on Jan. 30, according to a report from the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal. The decision to close a Target store is not made lightly,” spokesperson Kristy Welker told the publication. “We typically decide to close a store after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of a particular location.

Chief marketing officers at leading U.S. retailers are forecasting a 4.2% increase in overall holiday store sales, according to the 10th annual BDO USA survey.

This year’s BDO projection is only slightly higher than the National Retail Federation’s expected 3.7% increase to $630.5 billion, slower than the 4.1% increase during last year's November-December period.

Mega deals worth more than $1 billion drove the U.S. retail and consumer sector’s strong third quarter, according to PwC’s U.S. quarterly R&C Deals Insights report.

During the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 36 deals valued over $50 million were announced for the sector, with deal value up 64% in the third quarter, accounting for $46.6 billion, compared to $28.4 billion in the second quarter. Deal volume went up 6% from the second quarter, but down 36% from third quarter 2014.

Mega deals worth more than $1 billion drove the U.S. retail and consumer sector’s strong third quarter, according to PwC’s U.S. quarterly R&C Deals Insights report.

During the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 36 deals valued over $50 million were announced for the sector, with deal value up 64% in Q3, accounting for $46.6 billion, compared to $28.4 billion in Q2. Deal volume went up 6% from Q2, but down 36% from Q3 2014.

Exceptional customer service continues to drive growth at Publix Supermarkets, which had strong earnings and same-store sales growth in its third quarter.

Publix sales for the third quarter 2015 totaled $7.8 billion, representing a 6.3% increase from last year. Comparable-store sales for the third quarter of 2015 increased 4.2%.

The merger agreement between Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid must be consummated by Oct. 27, 2016, or the deal is off, according to documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. That deadline could be extended to Jan. 27, 2017 under some circumstances, according to the document.