Winter Holidays

Arlington, Va. – With the deadline to resolve the union contract negotiations at West Coast closing in, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) on Friday said that undertaking essential measures to avoid work stoppage and preserve reliable channels for retail supply chains should be the top priority.

RILA issued the following statement, which it attributed to Kelly Kolb, VP government affairs:

New store growth, 13.4% operating margins and totally untapped e-commerce potential failed to impress would-be Michaels investors when the company returned to public ownership Friday, June 27.

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Santa Monica, Calif. — Macerich is collaborating with HGTV, a home and lifestyle cable network, to create Santa HQ, an interactive holiday experience, at 10 Macerich malls. The initiative aims to add digital and social media to the traditional holiday experience of visiting Santa.

New York — M-A-C Cosmetics has signed a long-term lease at 853 Broadway in Manhattan’s Union Square, according to The Feil Organization, the building’s owner and manager. RKF represented M-A-C in the lease negotiations. The retailer plans to open in time for the 2014 holiday shopping season.

M-A-C will occupy a space on the ground floor and project a two-level storefront plus 14 ft. of frontage along 14th Street, giving it excellent visibility.

New York -- DreamWorks Animation is looking to bring a little bit of Hollywood magic to the nation's shopping malls. The film studio has developed a high-tech Santa Claus  experience, billed as "DreamHouse," that it hopes to roll out to malls for the holidays, with two developers, Forest City and General Growth Properties already buying in, the New York Times reported.
    

The drought’s effect on fresh produce in California and the timing of this year’s Easter holiday adversely affected 99 Cents Only Stores’ comparable-store sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

Same-store sales decreased 0.5%, calculated on a comparable 13-week period of the prior year. The company reported net sales of $477.9 million, an increase of 7% from $445.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

Wayne, N.J. — Toys “R” Us reported a net loss of $196 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, up from a $111 million net loss in the year-ago period, amid a decrease in income tax benefit and  rise in expenses that included investments in e-commerce and U.S. store maintenance. But the struggling retailer saw its sales improve.