Department Store

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Regional consumer electronics retailer Conn’s plans to more than double its footprint in Phoenix following second quarter results, which showed an 18.4% increase in same-store sales.

Old Bridge, N.J. — Thanks to absorptions of numerous empty big-box space on Route 22, the vacancy rate in retail properties along northern New Jersey’s six major shopping corridors inched own to 8.1% from a high of 8.2% a year ago, according to the latest survey by R.J. Brunelli & Co.

New York -- Although back-to-school sales were unexpectedly sluggish, retail sales for the month of August benefited from a late boost in store traffic.

Of the retailers still reporting monthly sales – most so far are reporting slight increases in August same-store sales. Retail Metrics forecast an overall August gain of 3.2% year-over-year; retail sales advanced 3.3% during the same period last year.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a same-store sales rise of 4% in August, surpassing a forecast 3.8% gain.

Dallas – Neiman Marcus is introducing a redesigned blog entitled, the blog. This replaces the brand's existing blog, NMdaily.

New York — Modell’s Sporting Goods will celebrate the grand opening of two new stores in Long Island today. The stores are located in the Huntington Shopping Center and Fivetowns Shopping Center.

The new stores will boost the company’s store-count to 155.

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — JoS. A. Bank has appointed Byron "Bud" Bergren to the company’s board of directors. Bergren will also serve on the audit committee.

Bergren was formerly chairman of the board at Bon-Ton Stores from February 2012 to June 2013. From 2002 to 2011, he served as president and CEO of Bon-Ton, where he led the company's acquisition of Saks Northern Department Store Group. Bergren received a B.S. degree from St. Cloud State University. He served on the board of directors of the National Retail Federation from 2008 to 2012.

Jacksonville, Fla. - Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Stein Mart Inc. The investigation focuses on whether Stein Mart and/or certain of its officers complied with the federal securities laws when making statements to investors.

Palo Alto, Calif. — A subsidiary of General Growth Properties has partnered with Deliv, a company that provides national multichannel retailers with low-cost same-day delivery through crowd-sourced drivers. The initiative aims to meet evolving consumer demands for swifter delivery.