Winter Holidays

New York -- As the holidays approach and retailers are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, October same-store sales results showcased consistent strength in the department store category.

Nordstrom led the pack with a 9.8% rise in same-store sales for the month, and Macy’s Inc. had a solid showing as well.

By Shelley E. Kohan, [email protected]

When reviewing month-to­month sales results, saw tooth performance of 2012 has left many retailers wondering the fate of holiday this year. Early predictions for holiday comp sales results have hinted to low single digits.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has launched its 2012 "12 Days of Giving" campaign by calling on Facebook users to once again nominate the nonprofits that are making an impact in their local communities and need support. Each of the "12 Days" will focus on a different giving theme, including hunger, military assistance and disaster relief.

New York -- With retail books closed prior to Hurricane Sandy’s arrival in the Northeast, most retailers experienced same-store sales gains for the month of October, some with stronger showings than others.

The 17 retail chains tracked by Thomson Reuters are predicted to report 4.3% growth in October same-store sales, up slightly over the 4.1% advance reported in the year-ago period and a significant gain over September’s 0.8% rise.

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Thursday by PriceGrabber revealed that 16% of consumers will shop using a mobile device during the holiday season, compared with 13% last year. Nearly all respondents indicated that they will do some online shopping from a computer.

The number of consumers who plan to visit brick-and-mortar stores dropped by two percentage points to 46% compared with last year.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney has added limited-engagement collections from Lulu by Lulu Guinness, Jenny Packham and Double Happiness Vivienne Tam to its holiday assortment.

Alameda, Calif. -- Jamestown L.P., which owns Alameda (Calif.) South Shore Center, said that Go! Calendars/Go! Games has signed a four-month lease for a 2,356-sq. ft. space, beginning Oct. 1.

The company operates a year-round online store, but opens approximately 1,000 storefronts in malls during the holiday season.

The 594,000-sq.-ft., open-air Alameda South Shore Center offers a pop-up leasing strategy to accommodate temporary tenants, including Go! Calendars/Go! Games and, most recently, Pedal Beach, a beach rental and supply store.

New York -- The TJX Cos. turned in the strongest performance among the discounters in October, reporting a 7% comp sales increase on Thursday.

According to TJX CEO Carol Meyrowitz, the above-plan performance has prompted the retailer to raise its outlook for the third quarter and full year. “We believe the momentum we are seeing in all of our businesses … bode well for the holiday selling season,” she said.

TJX sales for the period advanced 11% to $2.1 billion.