Retail

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club has revealed 60 featured deals for its annual, members-only Day After Thanksgiving Event (D.A.T.E.). The event will take place at all Sam's Club locations nationwide at 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.

Members who participate in the event will be able to enjoy complimentary breakfast from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. In addition, shoppers who join Sam's Club or upgrade to Plus Membership while in-club through the weekend will receive a $20 gift card.

Little Rock, Ark. -- Dillard’s Inc. reported Friday that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 29 soared a record 85% to $26.6 million, compared with $14.4 million in the year-ago period. Strong comps and contained expenses propelled the strong performance.

Revenue rose to $1.38 billion, from $1.34 billion, beating Wall Street’s expected $1.36 billion in sales. Same-store sales increased 5%.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R'Us will be the exclusive retailer of an assortment of toys inspired by Happy Feet 2, RetailingToday.com learned Friday.

Toys available only at Toys"R"Us include talking plush dolls from Thinkway Toys. The 12-inch stuffed birds say phrases from the film when their left wings are pressed. Characters, which are sold separately include Erik, Ramon, Sven and Atticus.

Murray, Utah -- Fashion Place, in Murray, Utah, celebrates a grand re-opening on Nov. 11 with the opening of first-to-market stores Crate and Barrel and H&M, as well as openings of The North Face, Bastille, Ann Taylor and Loft. The new store openings kick-off the grand re-opening of the center’s redevelopment, which includes 98,000 sq. ft. of new retail offerings and an expanded entranceway to the community.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings Thursday expressed support for S. 1832, the Marketplace Equity Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Enzi, Alexander and Durbin. The legislation will level the sales tax collection playing field for local businesses by granting the states authority to enforce existing laws and require out-of-state, online-only retailers to collect and remit sales taxes on sales made to state residents.

City of Commerce, Calif. -- Discounter 99 Cents Only Stores reported Wednesday that profit for the second quarter rose 17% to $15.1 million, compared with $12.9 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 8.8% to $363 million, beating analysts’ expected $357.3 million. Same-store sales increased 6.7%.

Overall, there was a slight upward trend in both size of inserts and circulation, with a 5% increase in the number of pages per insert and 2 % increase in the average number of inserts across markets.

Atlanta -- A report released Thursday by First Data Corp., which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, found that, in October, dollar volume growth held steady at 9.4% versus September’s growth of 9.5%.

Overall transaction growth improved to 7.5% in October from 7.1% in September. Inflation continued to be evident in the food sector as Food/Beverage Stores posted average ticket growth of 2.3% for the second consecutive month.