JCPenney Co.

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney says it is making continued progress in its turnaround after reporting some strong financial results for October 2013. Preliminary results indicate that compared to the same month in the prior year, same-store sales increased 0.9%, online sales grew 37.6%, and conversion continued to improve, which Penney says reflects favorable customer response to promotional events and improved inventory levels.

J.C. Penney scored a major victory during October with same stores sales up 0.9%. That may not seem like much, but for a company that has been written off by many the meager increase offers an encouraging tailwind heading into what retailer’s nationwide expect to be a challenging holiday season.

Wayne, N.J. – The time may have come to change the name of Black Friday to Black Thursday. According to multiple media reports, Toys ‘R’ Us will open stores at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.

By Joseph Bona, [email protected]

In media interviews of late, Beth Newlands Campbell, the new CEO of Food Lion, has been offering reporters a frank assessment of the supermarket chain’s ho-hum, middle-of-the-road situation: “Staying the same,” she explains, “is not an option.”

New York -- TJMaxx has signed a lease at the Brass Mill Commons in Waterbury, Conn., according to Charter Realty and Development, TJMaxx’s representative in the negotiations.

The new TJ Maxx store will be 22,889 sq. ft. and the 26th deal that Charter has leased to TJX. TJMaxx is a division of TJX, which also owns Marshall’s and HomeGoods.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney has secured Energy Star certifications in over 500 stores, one supply chain facility and its home office, far surpassing the company’s initial goal of having 400 locations certified by the end of 2013. (The Environmental Protection Agency awards Energy Star certification to buildings that rank within the top 25% of similar commercial buildings nationwide by meeting strict energy performance levels set by the EPA.)

Naperville, Ill. – Count OfficeMax as the latest in a growing list of retailers opening its doors at 8 p.m. local time Thanksgiving night (as permitted by law). Online Black Friday discounts at OfficeMax.com start at 12:01 a.m. EST Thanksgiving morning.

The OfficeMax Black Friday shopping event will take place for three days from Thursday, Nov. 28 to Saturday, Nov. 30 in stores and at OfficeMax.com.

New York -- J.C. Penney Co. on Monday reassured investors that sales trends are improving and reaffirmed its forecast calling for positive same-store sales results in the third quarter, Reuters reported.

The comments were made by Myron Ullman, Penney’s CEO, at the Women's Wear Daily conference on Monday.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners’ southeast investment sales team has closed five retail shopping center sales since August. The transactions total more than $60 million and over 575,000 sq. ft. of retail real estate. Here are the details:

Rakuten LinkShare saw strong third quarter results in its global performance marketing network. Along with double-digit growth, the affiliate network reported a significant increase in the percentage of sales transacted on mobile devices.

The company reported an increase in same store sales in the U.S. of 22% year-over-year, and an increase in same store sales in the U.K. of 34% year-over-year.