Retail

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.

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.

Greensboro, N.C. -- VF Corp. said Thursday that Tom Glaser, VP global operations, will succeed Boyd Rogers as VP of VF and president supply chain, effective Jan. 1.

Rogers is retiring from the company, effective Dec. 31, after 40 years of service.

Glaser will assume responsibility for VF’s global supply chain, including all manufacturing and sourcing operations.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it is starting its Black Friday promotions at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24), raising the question: "Should we just call it Black Thursday already?"

For the first time, Walmart will open its stores at 10 p.m. to offer customers special savings on top toys, home and apparel. Deals include Barbie dolls for $5 each, a $20 inflatable snowman, a 20-piece Paula Deen cookware set for $86.44 and kids character sleepwear sets for $4.47. 

Washington, D.C. -- Survey results released Thursday by the National Retail Federation found that fewer retailers expect return fraud rates to grow this holiday season, due in part to stronger checks and balances and to enhanced return policies.

Chicago -- Mall owner General Growth Properties said Thursday it has launched an enhanced version of its mobile application.

The Club app delivers several new upgrades, including push notifications to alert users of their favorite store sales, a Google  map feature, live Facebook feeds, GPS capabilities and more. Android and iPhone users can download the free app through the Android Market or App Store by searching The Club Shopping Mall Guide. 

New York City -- A Thursday report by the Wall Street Journal said that new J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson, who recently left Apple to run the department store chain, is recruiting other former Apple players to join the J.C. Penney team.

According to the report, J.C. Penney is nearing a deal with Michael Kramer, former CFO of Apple Retail from 2000 to 2005 and currently CEO of Kellwood Co., to join J.C. Penney as its COO. WSJ cited people familiar with the matter, and said Kramer will start at Penney effective Dec. 1.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 29 rose 6.7% to $127 million, compared with $119 million in the year-ago period.

Net sales rose 14.2% to $2.4 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s expected $2.35 billion and up from $2.1 billion a year earlier.  Same-store sales climbed 7.9%.

The company opened two full-line department stores – in Nashville and St. Louis -- and nine Nordstrom Rack stores during the quarter.