Department Store

NEW YORK -Tiffany & Co. announced that James Quinn will retire in early 2012. Quinn joined Tiffany in 1986 and has served as president since 2003, responsible for the company’s sales outside the Americas.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target is opening 21 stores across 12 states, the retailer announced Tuesday.

Among the openings include five stores in California, a third store in Hawaii and a SuperTarget in Minnesota.

“Target takes great pride in designing stores that meet the needs of our guests and the communities we serve,” said John Griffith, Target EVP. “With the addition of an expanded fresh food assortment, our new stores will offer guests everything they need in one convenient location.”

It seemed like everything was going Target’s way after the company reported a 5.5% same-store sales increase during November, but then the revelation came last week of a 0.9% December comp increase and the wind came out of the company’s sales.

Chicago -- Year-over-year retail sales rose a solid 4% for the 2010 holiday shopping season (November/December), according to ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate.

Conversely, total U.S. foot traffic fell slightly below expectations as consumers continued the pattern retailers saw throughout 2010 of fewer mall and individual store visits with a larger spend. ShopperTrak’s revised holiday forecast called for a 1.8% traffic increase.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Target -- or at least what the company was willing to share with CNBC camera crews -- will be available for viewing in a few days. The financial network is set to air the one hour show, “Target: Inside the Bullseye,” on Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. EST and again at 10 p.m., 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. The program will also re-air on Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Can’t wait until Thursday to watch the show? Here’s a few clips:

LONDON — Image-conscious women don't "dress their age" until they reach 70 years old, according to new research carried out by the retailer Debenhams, a department store group that has a strong presence in such categories as women's clothing, shoes, children's wear and beauty.

NEW YORK -- On the heels of a strong November, some department store retailers reported surprisingly weak December revenue. Results were impacted by a blizzard in the Northeast, which took a bite out of sales after Christmas.

The results raised some worries that the holiday season might be less stellar than some had hoped. Still, much of Wall Street still predicts that November and December spending will show the largest annual increase since 2006.

TJX reported same-store sales of 2% December, beating Wall Street estimates for a 2.5% decline. Total sales rose 6% to $3 billion.

"I am extremely pleased with December's sales results, as we significantly exceeded our plans during this important period," TJX CEO Carol Meyrowitz, CEO, TJX.