Department Store

The first phase of Fairfield Town Center in northwest Houston is nearing completion and should be fully operational by Black Friday, promises owner Washington Prime Group, formerly WP Glimcher.   Already open and operating at the 600,000-sq.-ft. development are HEB, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Chick-fil-A, and McDonalds, among several others. The fully populated center will include Marshalls/Homegoods, Ulta, Chipotle, and Dress Barn.  

The U.S. shopper’s love affair with the off-price channel shows no signs of winding down any time soon.       Ross Stores easily beat analysts’ expectations as its earnings increased 13% in the quarter ended Oct. 29, amid better-than-expected revenue growth and stronger margins.   

Target Corp. is bullish on its smaller store concept.   Company CEO Brian Cornell he is “increasingly confident’ the retailer will open “hundreds of “small-format stores, USA Today reported.   We think we have the opportunity to enter many, many new neighborhoods," Cornell said on a conference call.  

Move over Amazon Marketplace — Crate and Barrel is moving onto your turf.   Crate and Barrel has expanded its online assortment by launching its own marketplace, which it describes as a highly curated selection of products based on Crate and Barrel's merchandising style. Shoppers enter the marketplace directly from the retailer’s website.  

J. Crew Group is reportedly considering options for its popular Madewell brand, which it launched in 2006.   According to Reuters, the retailer, which has struggled with slumping sales in its namesake division, is working with investment bank Lazard Ltd. to assess multiple strategic and balance sheet options for Madewell, which operates some 108 stores.  

Most experts agree that the busiest day of this year’s holiday shopping season is likely to be Saturday, Dec. 17. But what about shoppers who want to avoid the crowds?   According to RetailNext Inc., Tuesday, Nov. 29 will afford the widest berths in malls and stores.  

The ghost of holidays past hangs over many retail workers, according to a new study of part- and full-time retail employees by Kronos.   Forty-percent of employees in the survey said that their employer did not have enough staff in previous years to account for the amount of shoppers they receive at their store. And 53% are worried about getting burned out during the holiday season.  

A popular goose from up north has landed in Manhattan.   Canada Goose, the 60-year-old brand best known for its signature goose-down jacket with Arctic Circle logo and fur-trimmed hood, has opened a flagship in the SoHo section of Manhattan. It is the company’s first-ever U.S. store and only second store to date, with the first opening in Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in October.