Department Store

Washington, D.C. -- More than 60% of consumers will start holiday shopping on Black Friday and most will spend more than 50% of their holiday budget over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to research by the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, sponsored by KPMG.

Add Target to the list of retailers whose weak third quarter sales performance highlighted troubling spending behaviors that threaten to undermine its holiday sales performance.

The company reported disappointing third quarter sales and profits Thursday morning and then stated the obvious that shoppers will price sensitive during an intensely competitive holiday season. The company said same store sales increased 0.9%, slightly less than the company’s forecast provided on August 21 which called for an increase of 1% to 2%.

Despite its continuing turnaround efforts, Sears Holdings widened its loss in the third quarter after sales fell at both Sears and Kmart.

The company reported a net loss for the quarter ended Nov. 2 of $534 million, or $5.03 a share, from $498 million, or $4.70 a share, a year earlier.

Despite posting a larger-than-expected loss for its third quarter, J.C. Penney pointed to hopeful signs that its business is starting to stabilize as its heads into the holiday season.

Penney reported a loss of $489 million in the three months ended Nov.2, compared with a loss of $123 million in the year-ago period.

Sales fell 5.1% to $2.78 billion. Same-store sales were down 4.8%, but the period ended with its first monthly gain since December 2011. And online sales rose 24.5%, to $266 million.

West Palm Beach, Fla. -- FTI Consulting predicts a 4.9% increase in sales this holiday season in its 2013 Holiday Retail Report. Despite slowing discretionary spending growth in recent months and anxiety over political turmoil in Washington, FTI retail and consumer products industry professionals anticipate a potential silver lining to this holiday season.

Greensboro, N.C. — Tanger Outlets National Harbor will celebrate its grand opening on Nov. 22. The outlet store line up includes: White House | Black Market, Calvin Klein, Gap, Halston Heritage, American Eagle Outfitters, Tommy Hilfiger, Banana Republic, Theory, Elie Tahari, Brooks Brothers, Aeropostale, Coach, Hugo Boss, J. Crew, Peter Millar, Diane von Furstenberg, Le Creuset and more.

The 340,000-sq. ft. center is located just minutes from the U.S. Capital.

Philadelphia — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has completed the sale of Chambersburg Mall in Chambersburg, Pa., for $8.8 million.The sale marks another step in PREIT’s continuing effort to improve the quality of its portfolio through the sale of non-core assets. Net proceeds from the transaction totaled approximately $8.4 million.

When the new Nordstrom Rack opened at Mercato in Naples, Fla., in early November, 500 people somehow got into the store within the first five minutes. No kidding.

Nordstrom Rack replaced Books-A-Million in a 30,000 sq. ft. space in the center, joining several other new tenants including The Wine Loft, The Counter, MASA, Kelly Chase Couture and Mark Loren Designs, Le Macaron, Salon Zen AVEDA, Second Cup and TAPS Bar & Lounge.