Department Store

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. reported Thursday that its loss for the quarter ended Oct. 31 widened to $218 million, compared with a loss of $127 million in the year-ago period. The loss was more than analysts expected as margins fell and sales dropped, especially at the company's namesake stores.

"While Kmart improved profitability, our third-quarter results were disappointing, in large part due to lower sales of apparel and appliances at Sears," said interim CEO W. Bruce Johnson.

Seattle -- Nordstrom plans to open a  Nordstrom Rack in Orange, Calif. The 35,000-sq.-ft. store will be located at The Block at Orange and is expected to open in spring 2012.

"We are very excited to move forward with our new store at The Block at Orange," said Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack "This is one of the area's top shopping destinations and a terrific opportunity for us to better serve our loyal OC customers."

New York City -- According to a special national consumer poll commissioned by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs, 31% of households plan to shop on Black Friday in 2010 compared with 26% in 2009. However, the strongest driver of Black Friday shopping is children, as 43% of households with kids are planning to shop on that day. Additionally, 37% of households reported that they plan to shop on the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Greensboro, N.C. -- New York City-based Centro Properties Group said that Christmas Tree Shops has opened a 33,500-sq.-ft. store at Wendover Place Shopping Center, in Greensboro, N.C. 

Centro Properties Group is the owner of Wendover Place.
 

Miami -- Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp. said that The Sports Authority, HomeGoods and a selection of retail shops and restaurants are opening and coming soon to The Shops at Midtown Miami, a 645,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use retail, dining and residential center.

The Sports Authority plans to open a 34,544-sq.-ft. store in 2011. HomeGoods opened a 25,351-sq.-ft. location in late fall 2010.

New York City -- Best Buy has become the latest retailer to offer free shipping for select online orders for the holidays.

The chain said the offer, which is good through Dec. 21, is valid on hundreds of thousands of items, including all CD’s, Blu-Ray and DVD movies, as well as gaming software and accessories.

Other retailers have begun offering free shipping programs to entice shoppers to open their wallets this holiday season, including Wal-Mart Stores, J.C. Penney and Target Corp.

Chicago -- Better-than-expected response to early sales promotions mixed with relatively mild weather throughout the country are already driving holiday traffic to malls and retail outlets have caused ShopperTrak to up its 2010 holiday forecast.