Department Store

Clarksville, Tenn. -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co. said that Ross Dress for Less will open a new store at Governor’s Square Mall, its first in the Clarksville, Tenn., area.

When it opens in the summer of 2013, the new store will occupy more than 31,000 sq. ft. next to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Governor’s Square Mall comprises over one million sq. ft. of retail space and is anchored by Dillards, Belk, Sears, J.C. Penney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target, and Cinema Ten.

New York  -- For the third consecutive year,  Subway came out on top on BrandIndex’s annual ranking of the most buzzed about U.S. brands. The BrandIndex Buzz Rankings compares “Buzz” scores for nearly 1,100 brands across 41 categories  to reveal the brands with the most positive Buzz in 2012.  

Subway had a Buzz score of 40.3. Online giant  Amazon came in at number two for the second year in a row, with a score of  36.8  Lowe’s was fifth, with a score of 32.7.

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Stride Rite has launched a new line of shoes specifically designed for baby's first months through the crawling and pulling up stages.

New York City -- Saks Inc. announced Tuesday it will shutter its Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Dallas Galleria on June 15. The retailer has operated a store in Dallas since 1982, and the summer closing will leave some 120 associates with the choice of transfer or severance.

Simultaneous with the Saks departure announcement was news from department store chain Belk that it will fill the vacated Galleria space with a $20-million, 170,000-sq.-ft. flagship store that starts construction in July and is slated to open spring 2014. 

New York -- J.C. Penney will leave the Martha Stewart name off some of its upcoming décor and housewares lines despite the pair’s multi-million dollar partnership, according to a Tuesday report by the New York Post.

Citing unnamed sources, The Post said that while the Martha Stewart name will appear on window treatments, the brand will be mostly missing from key categories such as bedding, linens and kitchenware.

CINCINNATI — Macy's has assigned additional responsibilities to several of its executives following the retirement of Thomas Cole, chief administrative officer, who is leaving the company in May after 41 years of service.

Cole's responsibilities have been re-assigned as follows:

By Kevin Farkas, [email protected]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) added five industry executives to its board of directors during its semi-annual meeting on Jan. 28 in Los Angeles, Calif. Also as a part of the meeting, Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon was re-elected to the board. Executives joining the board are elected to serve two-year terms. 

Joining the RILA board of directors are: