Consumer Electronics

New York City -- Apple will open a store in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal on Dec. 9.

The store will have regular hours starting at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, accommodating commuters. It will open later on weekends.

San Francisco -- More than 40% of online conversations about mobile shopping with the top 35 mobile retailers reflected customer frustration during the Thanksgiving weekend, revealing missed opportunities for leading brands, according to a report from Tealeaf. Even for the most successful mobile retailers, 41% of all online conversations indicated frustration with the mobile shopping experience at the outset of the holiday shopping season.

Target may have been up against a difficult prior-year comparison when it reported a 1.8% November same-store sales increase, but that hardly seems like a good excuse for an anemic number to begin the fourth quarter.

Niles, Ill. -- Tucker Development Corp. said that Ross Dress for Less has opened a 30,122-sq.-ft. store at Pointe Plaza in Niles, Ill.

In addition, Tucker Development announced two new lease transactions at Pointe Plaza: Batteries Plus has signed a 1,500-sq.-ft. lease, and Naf Naf Grill has signed a lease for 2,808 sq. ft.

Other tenants at Pointe Plaza include Walmart, Babies "R" Us, Starbucks, Men's Wearhouse, Fresh Farms International Market, Brick House Tavern + Tap, Jimmy John's, Walgreens and T-Mobile.
 

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group announced that, in 50/50 partnership with Genting Berhad, it has opened Johor Premium Outlets, its first Premium Outlet Center in Southeast Asia.

The center encompasses 173,000 sq. ft. of gross leasable area featuring 80 stores and is located in Johor Bahur, Malaysia. A grand opening celebration will take place on December 11, 2011.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — The nation’s leading warehouse club operator maintained its momentum in November by posting a 6% increase in same-store sales at U.S. clubs excluding the beneficial effect of higher year-over-year gas prices.

A funny thing happened on the way to Costco reporting a 6% increase in November same-store sales.

The warehouse club operator noted that sales in the electronics area increased in the high single digits and, in a reversal of prior year trends, attributed the gain to higher average selling prices as opposed to strong unit volume. In fact, unit volumes of televisions declined, but the drop was offset by strong sales of pricey big screen LED models as opposed to the prior year when sales were still dominated by LCD and plasma models that were experiencing deflationary pricing.

Purchase, N.Y. -- Sales growth was strong across most retail sectors in November, with early promotional activities and additional hours giving Black Friday sales, which traditionally account for 6%-7% of November’s total sales, a boost, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail sales.

Among the sectors that saw an increased growth rate during November was luxury, which saw its third consecutive month of strong year-over-year growth and its second in the double digits.