Retail

Bon-Ton plans to close its Bon-Ton store in the Clearview Mall in Butler, Pennsylvania, and its Elder-Beerman store in the Raleigh Mall in Beckley, West Virginia. The company will not renew these leases, which terminate Jan. 31, 2015.

The closings will affect approximately 38 and 39 store employees at the Clearview Mall and Raleigh Mall locations, respectively.

Austin, Texas - Starmount has donated laptop computers to Retail ROI to help equip a computer lab at the Hogar de Niños Tía Tatiana School, an inner-city school in Herrera that’s located in an impoverished area in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The laptops will be used to help replace outdated computers at the school, which serves more than 500 children.

Holiday sales are projected to grow at their fastest level in years, rising 4.1% to nearly $617 billion after a 3.1% increase last year, according to an annual forecast released by the National Retail Federation.

Chico’s is looking to evolve its omnichannel retailing strategy, and to that end, has partnered with Tyco, a leading global provider of retail performance and security tools and technology, to address inventory accuracy and visibility challenges in 13 Soma Intimates pilot stores.

Tyco's RFID-based Inventory Intelligence tool is designed to enable store assistants to access accurate, real-time inventory information in one place to better manage their deep merchandise assortment and to drive increased sales and shopper satisfaction, according to the company.

New York – Ann Inc. is opening its first Loft store in Mexico, continuing the company's international expansion. The store is located in the Antea Lifestyle Center in Queretaro, with additional locations planned for later this year in Mexico City's Parque Toreo Mall and Puebla's Angelopolis Mall.

Ann Inc. is working with its franchise partner Grupo Axo to establish its retail presence in Mexico.

Scott Fenwick, Manhattan Associates

For the average consumer, the holiday season probably seems far away. As we recover from back-to-school mayhem, holiday shopping lists are not likely to be top of mind. Very soon, however, decorations will begin creeping onto store shelves, and seasonal commercials will make their first appearances during our favorite TV shows.

Levi Strauss has added Jenny Ming to its board of directors. Ming is president and CEO of Charlotte Russe, a specialty retailer of apparel and accessories catering to young women, with more than 500 stores across the US, a position she has held since October 2009.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Kansas on Oct. 11. The store is located in Schulman Crossing in Garden City.  

This new opening is part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.