Department Store

As the winter season approaches, Burlington Coat Factory experienced overall sales growth that led to a comparative store sales increase of 7.8% for the second quarter ended Aug. 3.

Total net sales increased 11.5% to $963.7 million for the months quarter compared with last year.

“We are proud of our second quarter results including 11.5% overall sales growth and, most important, our 7.8% comparative store sales increase. I would like to thank our store and corporate teams for contributing to these results,” said Tom Kingsbury, president and CEO. 

New York – David Yurman opens a new boutique at The Somerset Collection in Troy, Mich., today. Architectural firm Gabellini Sheppard Associates designed the 1,506-sq.-ft. location.

"As an American brand, we're proud to make a home for ourselves here in the Detroit Metro area." says David Yurman president Carol Pennelli. "Our partnership with Somerset Collection allows us to provide the luxury retail experience that is signature to David Yurman. We're thrilled to be in such extraordinary company."

Washington, D.C. -- Retail sales increased in the month of August but came in at a much slower pace than anticipated.

According to the National Retail Federation, August retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.1% seasonally adjusted from last month, and increased 3.9% unadjusted year-over-year.

Vornado Realty Trust chairman and CEO Steven Roth has resigned from J.C. Penney’s board of directors, according to a Reuters report. 

The article went on to say that Vornado, which owns office buildings and retail properties in New York and Washington, took a 9.9% stake in Penney at the same time that Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management bought a 16.5% stake in 2010 to push for big changes at the company.

Toronto – Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) reported net earnings of $3.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to a net loss of $2 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.

In addition, HBC reported consolidated sales of $947.7 million, up 3.9% from $911.9 million. The retailer credited consolidated same-store sales growth of 3.5% and e-commerce sales growth of 56.1% to $37.3 million as helping to drive its healthy overall performance.

Plano, Texas – Rent-A-Center is opening a new store at 1611 Blue Hill Avenue in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston today.

Rent-A-Center operates 70 locations in the state of Massachusetts and more than 3,000 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico. The company employs more than 21,000 workers.

New York -- Steven Roth, chairman and CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, resigned from the board of J.C. Penney as company plans to sell its stake in the chain.

In a filing on Friday, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Vornado said it will exit Penney in the “not-too-distant future. The company owns about 6.1% of Penney’s shares.

Mount Vernon, Ill. — Big Lots has signed a lease for 32,022 sq. ft. at Times Square Mall in Mount Vernon, Ill., about 80 miles east of St. Louis. The store is slated to open in the first quarter of 2014.