Retail

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — GE Lighting has named John Strainic, a leader with a as head of the business’s North America Consumer Lighting operation. In this newly created role, Strainic will be responsible for driving growth for GE Lighting’s North America consumer business.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Fred's will now offer Western Union prepaid cards at 645 stores in 15 states.

Available cards will include the MoneyWise and Gold Card MasterCards and the Western Union Telemundo MasterCard. All three of the cards can be used anywhere debit MasterCard is accepted, including at ATMs and for online shopping. Cards can be “topped up” or reloaded with cash at one of 45,000 Western Union Agent locations in the United States or at any Fred’s location that offers the cards.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart and American Express have teamed up to offer customers an alternative to debit and checking accounts. The new service, called Bluebird, is designed to provide financial services to customers who often do not have traditional bank accounts. It will allow for deposits by smartphone and mobile bill paying, with no minimum balance or monthly, annual or overdraft fees.

New York -- Barneys New York will close its 88,000-sq.-ft. store in NorthPark Center, Dallas. It will remain open until April 2013.

"After careful consideration, Barneys New York has exercised its contractual right to terminate the lease for its Dallas location prior to its expiration," said a spokeswoman.
 

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — Mars Chocolate already may have unveiled its lineup of new treats for Halloween, Valentine's Day, as well as the winter holiday season, but the company announced new items that will be added to its Easter 2013 lineup.

The new Easter 2013 lineup includes:

•  Snickers Peanut Butter Squared minis;

 

•  Dove Silky Smooth white chocolate eggs;

 

•  Twix minis filled eggs;

New York -- Hennes & Mauritz AB has cut a deal to open in Manhattan’s Times Square, the New York Post reported.

According to the report, H&M will move into the three-floor, 42,510-sq.-ft. space at 4 Times Square that was previously occupied by the restaurant ESPN Zone. The space, which has been vacant for some two years, includes two huge billboards that wrap above the store’s facade along Broadway and West 42nd Street.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix has expanded its online deli service to 50 stores in select markets.

Publix customers may place their orders online or via mobile device by visiting www.publix.com/order. Once on the site, customers may select their desired deli custom sub, wrap and/or sliced meats and cheeses, specify pickup time and proceed with order placement. An order pickup number will be provided on the customer’s final order summary and emailed to them as well.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Dollar General is the overall basket price leader, delivering a substantial savings to value shoppers, according to Kantar Retail's second annual opening price point survey. Walgreens, for the second year, had the most expensive total basket, driven by sharply higher edible and nonedible grocery baskets.