Department Store

New York -- A report released Thursday by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries and the International Council of Shopping Centers said that the U.S. shopping center industry’s net operating income for the fourth quarter continued to show a strong gain nationally, rising 4.3% year-over-year.  

Total operating income of all U.S. shopping centers on a square foot basis rose 3.6% over the year-ago period.

For all of 2012, the U.S. shopping-center industry posted a 3.6% rise in NOI.

MONTREAL — Target has presented its Emerging Designer Award to Mélissa Nepton. Nepton was selected from a group of five finalists as the grand prize winner during the final competition hosted last night at Montreal Fashion Week. The Target Emerging Designer Award is part of the Designers Fund, a joint initiative of Groupe Sensation Mode and Fondation de la mode de Montréal.

Seattle -- Sur La Table said Thursday it has promoted Jacob Maurer to the position of SVP – general merchandising manager for the kitchen goods chain.

The promotion is effective immediately, and will put Maurer in charge of all merchandise buying and product development functions for the company.

SEATTLE -- Kitchen goods retailer, Sur La Table, has promoted Jacob Maurer to the position of SVP, general merchandising manager.

The promotion is effective immediately, and will put Maurer in charge of all merchandise buying and product development functions for the company.

Maurer joined Sur La Table in 2003 as a store manager, opening the chain’s first Massachusetts store located in Chestnut Hill. In October 2004 he joined the company’s merchandising team in Seattle and rose to VP merchandising by 2009.

New York -- Department store retailers reported strong sales in January as shoppers responded positively to post-holiday clearance events.  

Overall, the 20 retailers reporting January comps saw an average rise of 5.1%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which beat the mall trade group’s 3% forecasted rise.

Target salvaged its fourth quarter with a 3.1% increase in January same store sales that followed disappointing results in December and November.

Target said sales for the five weeks ended February 2, increased 29.6% to nearly $6 billion due to the inclusion of an extra week in the recent reporting period.

New York -- Although there were some surprising gains among retailers in January, for the most part results were expectedly mixed, as consumers took a hit on their take-home pay from higher payroll taxes but cooler weather gave a boost to others.

New York -- There were few missteps among the discounters in January, as most posted strong results, many surpassing Wall Street expectations.

Target reported a same-store sales rise of 3.1%, topping Wall Street expectations. Total sales surged 29.6% to $5.97 billion in January.