Retail

I think it’s exciting to watch retail going back downtown.
 
I remember shopping in big downtown department stores years ago, and I remember when the big retailers began their exodus to suburban malls leaving huge, sad-looking buildings behind.
 
But retail, as they say, follows rooftops, and the rooftops were springing up in suburbia and then further out in edge communities. Today, we all have a number of friends and acquaintances that commute for an hour or more in each direction every day.
 

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — JoS. A. Bank customers did not respond as favorably to some of the company's marketing campaigns as they did in the prior year leading to a total sales decline of approximately 11% in the second quarter ended Aug. 3.

The company expects earnings for the quarter to be approximately $0.49 to $0.53 per diluted share, compared with $0.83 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2012.

Canton, Mass. – To mark the first anniversary of its mobile gifting/payment app, Dunkin’ Donuts is launching a sweepstakes on Twitter. The sweepstakes, called “DD Mobile Appiversary,” will give 365 consumers a $10 Dunkin' Donuts mGift.

New York -- Facebook hired its first-ever chief marketing officer, Gary Briggs, former marketing chief at Google's Motorola Mobility. He replaces Eric Antonow, VP-product marketing, who has been directing the social network’s marketing efforts since 2010.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation and the Retail Association of Nevada hosted Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., at a retail roundtable discussion. More than a dozen community retailers and small business owners gathered to address the industry’s challenges and public policy priorities.

New York -- Wall Street is reacting to Jos. A. Bank’s news that it is cutting its second-quarter profit and sales outlook, sending shares spiraling downward.

Company CEO R. Neal Black said, “While our total sales declined in Q2, we achieved stability in our gross profit margin rate. Customers did not respond as well to some of our highly promotional, high sales volume marketing campaigns as they did in the prior year.”

Total sales declined 11% in the second quarter.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Terminix has entered the Canadian pest control market with the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Toronto-based Magical Pest Control. It is the first Canadian asset acquisition for the company.

Founded in 1997, Magical Pest Control is one of the largest pest control companies in Ontario. It specializes in commercial accounts and the property management sector, while also treating residential customers. The Toronto company, headed by president Mark Joseph, served customers throughout Ontario and eastern Canada.

Evanston, Ill. — Three new tenants are coming to the 212,373-sq.-ft. Evanston Plaza on Chicago’s North Shore, according to Mid-America Asset Management Inc. www.midamericagrp.com, the exclusive representative of the center.

DaVita, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., signed a lease for 10,000 sq. ft. and plans to open a kidney dialysis center in the fall of 2013. The U.S. Army & Marines lease 2,424 sq. ft. for a recruitment center. Papa Romeo’s Pizza has taken 1,464 sq. ft.