Costco Wholesale Corp.

Department stores and shopping centers malls are gaining market share for the first time in three decades, according to consultants Customer Growth Partners, and this month most will report their best annual earnings in years -- if not ever.

“Department stores from Macy’s to Nordstrom, and mall operators from Macerich to Simon, have used the recession not just to cut costs, but to reinvent themselves,” said Craig Johnson, president, Customer Growth Partners, a consulting and research firm serving retail and other consumer industries.

MINNEAPOLIS — In the wake of Walgreens' Big Flats 1901 entry, Supervalu recently introduced its “high quality, low-price” private-label American lager Buck Range Light.

Buck Range Light, which retails for about $5.99 for a 12-pack, will roll out in Supervalu banners nationwide, including Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Cub Foods and more.

BJ’s Wholesale Club this week formally announced that it planned to explore strategic alternatives and confirmed what had been speculated about in the market place for at least four years. The possible sale of BJ’s and its 189 clubs isn’t likely to have a meaningful impact on the marketplace and could potentially benefit the likes of Sam’s Club and Costco.

Retail sales during January offered a mix bag of results and made it rather tricky to determine how much results were influenced by harsh winter weather, gift card redemption rates, a still shaky economic recovery and individual company strategies.

New York City -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a January same-store sales increase of 9%, topping Wall Street expectations and leading the performances of the discount retail category.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a smaller same-store sales increase of 6.1%.

Target Corp. didn’t show the same strength, missing expectations because of strong winter storms during the month. Same-store sales edged up 1.7% for the month, missing the 1.9% increase predicted by Wall Street.

LOS ANGELES -- Costco has engaged Creative Channel Services' CyberScholar Retail Network to increase in-store product knowledge and enhance shopper experiences, the company reported.  The warehouse retailer has integrated CCS' CyberScholar portal into its U.S. employee development strategies for consumer electronics (CE) product lines.

New York City -- Chicago's City Council on Thursday approved a $1 million property tax break for Costco Wholesale Corp. to build its second store in the city, Chicago Business reported.

The tax break was introduced by Mayor Richard M. Daley at a December City Council meeting. He asked that the retailer receive a $1 million tax break over 12 years for a store to be built at 14th Street and Ashland Avenue.

More than one-third of the world’s 250 largest retailers suffered a decline in sales in fiscal 2009 (encompasses June 2009 through June 2010), according to the Global Powers of Retailing 2011 report, whose results were revealed at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo in New York City. The annual report, from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, identifies the largest 250 retailers around the world, provides an outlook for the global economy and an analysis of market capitalization in the retail industry.