Consumer Electronics

Mike Kahn, director of Alpha Camera Systems for Sony Electronics was named special advisor to the board of PMA, the Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations.

The move is long overdue for an 86 year old organization focused on serving the needs of the imaging industry as Kahn’s appointment marks the first time a manufacturer representative was named to a PMA executive committee.

Chicago -- Telecommunications giant AT&T is setting up shop on Chicago's Magnificant Mile, opening a flagship on Sept. 1. The 10,000-sq.-ft. store, at 600 N. Michigan Ave., is designed to showcase what consumers can do with AT&T's products and to educate them about future wireless technologies and services.

A 4.2% increase in August same-store sales at Target was at the high end of the company’s forecast range.

The solid showing during August was noteworthy because it came on top of a prior year increase of 4.1% and was attributable primarily to an increase in average transaction size. According to Target, about three fourths of the increase was due to growth in ticket with increase shopper traffic accounting for the remainder of the comp increase.

NEW YORK — Macy's, Limited Brands and Gap Inc. all posted August same-store sales that topped analysts' estimates as retailers across the board generally posted strong sales, boosted by back-to-school shopping and aggressive promotions. The strong showing comes shortly after the news that consumer confidence for August slumped to its lowest level of the year.

SIDNEY, Neb. — Cabela’s is opening its second store in Saskatchewan, Canada in Regina. The 50,000 sq. ft. store will join the company's Saskatoon location in fall 2013 or spring 2014. With this new store, Cabela's will be in four locations in Canada.

The store is expected to employ more than 125 full-time and part-time employees, most of whom will come from Regina and the surrounding area.

Mountain View, Calif. -- Best Buy tops a list of the most effective back-to-school advertisers, according to Ace Metrix, which provides television and video analytics. An ad promoting free kids’ haircuts at J.C. Penney also was a top perfomer.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — The first of 39 former Zellers stores Walmart bought from Target in Canada celebrated its grand opening as a Walmart store earlier this month.

According to Walmart Canada, the 69,000 sq. ft. store located in Newmarket, Ontario, will feature easy-to-navigate aisles with directional signage, and a bright interior color palette to define the store's merchandise areas along with lower shelving to improve sightlines. The store will also conain a pharmacy.

GRAPEVINE, Texas and ROSEVILLE, Calif. — GameStop has announced that customers can purchase digital, web-access Prima e-guides at GameStop retail locations. The new program, “Buy In-Store, Redeem Online,” launches with an exclusive Madden NFL 13 tournament bundle. This exclusive GameStop eGuide bundle includes two tournament-level eGuides (offense and defense). Regularly priced at $39.99, GameStop customers can get the bundle for only $19.99.