Department Store

New York - BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP, the $1 billion global fashion brand, has launched a new, fast-fashion store concept, Lola, targeted at young women (ages 16 to 26).  The 3,000-sq.-ft. store, has a cool, hip vibe and is designed as an urban studio apartment, complete with fireplace, daybed, spiral staircase,  and closet. Salvaged doors give the storefront a Lower East Side feel.

As part of our preview coverage of the upcoming International Council of Shopping Centers’ New York deal-making convention in New York City, Dec. 6 and 7, Chain Store Age talked with Joseph Coradino, president of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust/PREIT Services, Philadelphia, about retailer attitude and potential deals at the New York convention.

What do you expect the retailer attitude to be at the ICSC New York deal-making show in early December?

Atlanta - A report released Monday by payment solution provider First Data Corp. found that on Black Friday, card spending growth returned to pre-recession levels.

According to the First Data SpendTrend analysis for Black Friday 2010, which tracks same-store consumer spending via credit, signature debit, PIN debit and EBT cards at U.S. merchant locations, year-over-year same-store dollar volume grew 12.3%.

Transaction growth was 10.1%.

New York City - The Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) announced that its Retail Design Collective will be held Dec. 8-10, at 7 W New York, 7 W. 34th St. and at other major showrooms throughout New York City.

Conference sessions focus on visual merchandising and store design trends, and will feature retailers such as Harry Cunningham of Saks Fifth Avenue, Brad Lenz of Liz Claiborne, Diana Bernal of Van Cleef  Arpels Inc., Paul Olszewski of Macy's, Tom Davidson of The Food Emporium, and Lauren Shaw of Louis Vuitton North America.

New York - The holiday shopping season got off to a positive if unspectacular start, according to preliminary results from the Black Friday weekend.  The number of people who shopped at stores and online between Thursday and Sunday was up 8.7% to 212 million shoppers, according to a National Retail Federation survey of 4,306 shoppers conducted by BIGresearch. The total amount spent during the four-day weekend reached an estimated $45 billion, with the average spending rising 6.4% to $365.34, the survey showed.

Gainesville, Ga. - Addison, Texas-based Coyote Management, L.P. announced that Debora M. Overholt has been named general manager for Lakeshore Mall, in Gainesville, Ga.

Lakeshore Mall, opened in 1969, and is a single-level, 517,153-sq.-ft. enclosed regional mall anchored by J.C. Penney, Sears and Belk.

New York - Visits to the top 500 retail sites increased 13% on Black Friday, according to data from Experian Hitwise. For the sixth year in a row, Amazon was the top retail site receiving traffic on Black Friday. Walmart was the second most visited retail site, followed by Target. But Target’s visits increased 13% on versus 2009, representing the biggest increase among the top five sites. The top 20 retail sites accounted for 61% of all visits among the top 500 retail sites.