Convenience Stores

New York -- Simons, Canada’s eclectic and fashion-forward department store retailer, received top honors in Chain Store Age’s 31st annual Retail Store of the Year design competition. The company’s 118,000-sq.-ft. store in West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Canada, was named Store of the Year. Designed by figure3, Toronto, Simons also was the winning entry in the department store category.

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings is bullish on expansion. Reporting impressive results for the fourth quarter, the retailer plans to open approximately 150 net new U.S. stores in 2013, along with 30 net new domestic franchise locations, and 175-200 net new international franchise locations. It also will open 30 net new GNC-Rite Aid store-within-a-store locations.

Houston -- A report released Tuesday by research company NPD Group found that the convenience store sector experienced marked gains last year, as visits increased 4.6% in the fourth quarter and grew an average of 3.7% per month for 2012.

Traffic gains were spread among all type of c-stores, according to NPD’s Convenience Store Monitor, which tracks the consumer purchasing behavior of more than 51,000 convenience store shoppers in the U.S.  

The apparent advantage online retailers have over their brick-and-mortar counterparts may soon be gone now that new legislation seeking to enforce the collection of sales tax for all retailers has been introduced.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Consumer Electronics Association has issued praise for the U.S. Congress for introducing legislation to establish sales tax fairness.

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Inc. announced plans to open a 42,000-sq.-ft. Cabela’s Outpost store in Waco, Texas.

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and doors are expected to open this fall. It will be the company’s fourth store in Texas, joining the Fort Worth, Buda and Allen locations.

MT. PROSPECT, Ill. — Cummins Allison, a provider of currency, coin and check handling solutions, has announced its latest solution offerings for retail back-office processing.

Chicago -- Claire’s Stores announced Tuesday that Sam’s Club EVP and chief merchandising officer Linda Hefner Filler has been named president of Claire’s North America, effective March 1.

Filler will report to CEO Jim Fielding and will be charged with implementing operational and strategic initiatives for Claire's in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.