Transform SR Brands LLC

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- A report released Monday by the Associated Press said that Sears Holdings Corp. would be spinning off its Hometown and Outlet stores, along with some hardware stores, into a separate, publicly traded company.

Earlier this year, Sears had revealed it would split the companies but had not indicated the new organization would be a separate public entity.

There are approximately 1,238 Hometown, Outlet and hardware stores. Five Hometown stores have been closed, along with eight hardware stores and one Outlet unit.

New York -- Only 26% of parents say they are shopping wherever the best back-to-school promotions are offered, according to a study by WSL/Strategic Retail. The finding was revealed as part of the company’s Back-to-School 2012 How America Shops trend report, which tracked what stores and categories parents are shopping.

With the start of Back to School promotions, (and taking JCPenney out of the mix) we witnessed increase in page count that was driven mainly by significant increases in Walmart’s and Sears’ page counts.

JCPenney has been drastically altering their promotional strategy in past couple of months, however this month, the store did not promote at all, causing curiosity for many customers. (It should be noted that JCPenney did release circulars the week of July 29th that will be counted in the August report.)

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings said Friday it has again been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings.

For the third consecutive year, Sears will participate in the competition, this year entering 56 facilities that will compete against thousands of other teams representing buildings across the country. All efforts will be focused on eliminating waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's Energy Star program.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart is responding to changing trends affecting the "back-to-school" experience with a number initiatives designed to meet the needs of its consumers.

According to Kmart, more public schools are requiring uniforms and others are now adopting a year-round school calendar. In response, Kmart has adjusted its approach to back-to-school by increasing the number of stores that sell uniforms and aligning its back-to-school sales periods by region to match that of the local school districts.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart is responding to changing trends affecting the "back-to-school" experience with a number initiatives designed to meet the needs of its consumers.

According to Kmart, more public schools are requiring uniforms and others are now adopting a year-round school calendar. In response, Kmart has adjusted its approach to back-to-school by increasing the number of stores that sell uniforms and aligning its back-to-school sales periods by region to match that of the local school districts.

Chicago -- Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties said that a completely refreshed AMC Loews 6 Theater opens on Aug. 9 at its Chicago Ridge Mall property, located in Chicago Ridge, Ill.

Following the opening of the newly renovated theatre are store openings over the course of the next several months. Crazy 8, Old Navy, Kids Foot Locker and Wetzel’s Pretzels are slated to open before year end, and a newly remodeled Victoria’s Secret and its new Pink boutique opened recently.

LOS ANGELES — The Kardashian sisters (Kim, Kourtney and Khloé) have expanded their retail empire with the addition of eyewear to their collection at Sears. Manufactured by Jupi Corp and Inspecs USA, the Kardashian Kollection Eyewear hit stores in July.