Winter Holidays

WAYNE, N.J. — It may be August, but Toys"R"Us is getting a jump on the holiday season. The retailer is expanding its price match guarantee on items available at its Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores nationwide to include selected online retailer pricing. 

ORLANDO — Walmart is kicking off its official start to the holiday season Friday, Sept. 13, with a no-fee layaway program.

New York -- Express staged a fashion show on Friday in New York City's Times Square, providing the specialty retailer with a promotional platform to preview upcoming collections.

Male and female models showed off the retailer's Holiday 2013 collection, which is not scheduled to hit stores for a few months yet, as part of an ad campaign shoot.

"The Holiday 2013 collection is really about a lot of sparkle, shine, glamour and obviously New York City," said Express president David Kornberg.

Yesterday’s release of disappointing sales and profits at Walmart was hardly unexpected, but it heightened concerns about the health of the consumer and sparked a broader market sell-off.

Washington, D.C. -- Following negative numbers in four of the last five months, import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to grow 1.7% in August over the same month last year and should continue to see gains through the holiday season and the remainder of 2013, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The year is expected to end with a 2.4% increase over 2012.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us announced that it has introduced its own gift card program in its stores throughout China. Gift cards are now available for purchase in its 41 locations, and can be redeemed in any Toys “R” Us store in the country.
 

Gaithersburg, Md. — Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Md., today announced a $1.2 million renovation plan. Improvements will include a reconfiguration of the center court, a new and improved children’s play area and new furniture for the food court.

Work will level the 5,245-sq.-ft. center court to create a space that will host community events such as the Lunar New Year Celebration, Summer Camp Expo and holiday promotions. Center court renovations will finish up by early November.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer is preparing to hire thousands of new team members for its stores in response to company growth and in preparation for the fall and holiday selling seasons. While staffing needs vary from store to store, all Meijer stores have positions available. Broken down by state, Meijer plans 4,400 new hires in Michigan, 1,800 in Indiana, 1,600 in Ohio, 900 in Illinois and 500 in Kentucky.

By Ted Vaughan, [email protected]

The year 2012 was the best year for retail IPOs since 2002 — S&P Capital IQ reported seven offerings for the year — and when we released our 2013 IPO Outlook Study earlier this year, 30% of capital markets executives expected initial public offerings (IPOs) in the retail and consumer products space to continue to grow in 2013. Now that we’re well into the second half of the year, how have those expectations fared?

Philadelphia — Distrito, a Garces Group restaurant, has leased a 7,500-sq.-ft. space at the Moorestown Mall in Moorestown, N.J., according to the mall’s owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.

James Beard Award-winning chef and one of only a few chefs in the country designated an Iron Chef, Jose Garces owns and operates more than a dozen restaurants in five states.