Department Store

PLANO, Texas -- JCPenney has completed a new five-year $1.25 billion bank credit facility.

The new facility replaces a $750 million credit facility that was scheduled to mature in April 2012 and provides further strength to the company's liquidity position. The facility may be used for general corporate purposes and will mature in April 2016.

The 5% REDcard Rewards program Target launched last fall has contributed to sales results and served as a game changer on the pricing front with Walmart. Savvy shoppers are increasingly realizing the additional 5% savings they receive by using their REDcard can result in the price of a basket of food and consumables at Target slipping below the price of a comparable basket at Walmart.

NEW YORK –  Kidlandia, a company that enables children to create such personalized items as maps, kingdoms and family trees, has opened its first in-store boutique at FAO Schwarz in Midtown Manhattan.

Mother’s Day may be considered a “Hallmark Holiday,” but that won’t stop consumers from showering mom with gifts on May 8. According to NRF’s 2011 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the average person celebrating the holiday is expected to spend $140.73 on gifts, up from $126.90 last year, and a return to 2008 spending levels. Total spending is expected to reach $16.3 billion.

The iPad is an amazing product that offers a wonderful user experience, which is why everyone wants one. It also doesn’t hurt that retailers of all types have become quite aggressive in their promotional efforts on behalf of Apple, since the popular device makes a meaningful contribution to sales in addition to providing those retailers who feature the device with some of that Apple “it” factor.

Target began its in-store recycling program just nine months ago, and some of the early numbers from the program are staggering. Between April 2010, when the program was launched, and December 2010, the company collected and recycled more than 170 million shopping bags and more than 1.4 million pounds of cans and bottles. In addition, the company said it collected roughly two million units of small electronic items such as MP3 players and cell phones.

HOUSTON -- Douglas Ewert will become CEO of Men’s Wearhouse effective at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 15, when founder and current chairman and CEO George Zimmer steps down.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Payless ShoeSource announced that Andrew Meyer has been named SVP and general merchandise manager for Payless' women's and accessories businesses, reporting to LuAnn Via, president and CEO of Payless.