Department Store

New York -- Barneys New York will close its 88,000-sq.-ft. store in NorthPark Center, Dallas. It will remain open until April 2013.

"After careful consideration, Barneys New York has exercised its contractual right to terminate the lease for its Dallas location prior to its expiration," said a spokeswoman.
 

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart and Sears are eliminating layaway service fees, starting a layaway home-delivery service and new in-store mobile features for what the company expects to be the busiest shopping season since 2007.

Retail sales in September decelerated from August at many of Walmart’s competitors, but overall demand remained positive judging from the shrinking number of companies who continue to report monthly results.

Discounters The TJX Cos. and Ross Stores reported September same-store sales that rose 6% and 5%, respectively. The figures exceeded both companies’ expectations and shoppers continue to respond to their brand of apparel retail.

Brentwood, Calif. -- RED Legacy and a fund managed by DRA Advisors have acquired The Streets of Brentwood, a 350,000-sq.-ft. lifestyle center on 60 acres in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Tenants include a 14-screen Rave Imax Brentwood 14+ImaxTheater, DSW, REI, Loft, Banana Republic, Victoria’s Secret, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Ulta and more. In addition, Charming Charlie will open a 7,500-sq.-ft. store in November.

Killingly, Conn. -- Brixmor Property Group announced that Kohl’s has opened a new store at Killingly Plaza, located in Killingly, Conn.

Kohl’s will take 55,068 renovated sq. ft. of the 66,000-sq.-ft. center, which was previously home to Stop & Shop and a Blockbuster video store.

Brixmor, based in New York City, is the owner of Killingly Plaza.

Dallas -- Davaco announced that the company offers shop-in-shop solutions for soft and hard-line brands that are implementing nationwide programs involving new or existing shops within department or big box stores. Davaco provides clients with a fully integrated approach to shop-in-shop rollouts that can include fixture manufacturing, site surveys, logistics/consolidation, as well as installation and merchandising after installation.
 

Total U.S. shopper traffic in retail stores and malls for September 2012

The end of back-to-school shopping in the U.S. led to a significant drop in foot traffic this past month. September saw a 13.1% decrease in retail foot traffic compared to August. However, this past month continued a streak of year-over-year improvements. September 2012 foot traffic increased 12.9% when compared with the same month last year.

Toronto -- Ann Taylor announced it opened its first international store on Oct. 4, in the Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto.

A second international store set to open this November in Toronto at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre.