Department Store

Department store retailer Belk has enlisted a hot male model to serve as a non-traditional Santa Claus at the center of a multifaceted digital initiative.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy has joined the ranks of retailers that have moved up the time their stores will open on Thanksgiving Day. The consumer electronics giant said Tuesday that some 1,000 of its stores will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, which is one hour earlier than last year. The stores will close at 1 a.m. Friday before reopening at 8 a.m. on November 28 (Black Friday) and close at 10 p.m. that day.  

By Nicholas Fortuna & Paula Lopez of Allyn & Fortuna LLP  

Aventura, Fla. -- In another move to capitalize on its extensive real estate portfolio, Sears Holdings Corp. has submitted plans to the City of Aventura in Florida for the redevelopment of the Sears property at Aventura Mall into an open-air village that will feature retail, restaurants, offices and a hotel.

 

New York -- The outlook for the U.S. retail industry in 2015 is stable, according to a new report by Moody’s Investor Service, which forecasts that retail sales will grow 3- to 4% in 2014,  and 4- to 5% in 2015.     The report, Moody’s U.S. Retail Industry Outlook, also finds that traditional brick-and-mortar retailers will be formidable competitors to pure-play online merchants.    

The Joseph Abboud brand has launched an exclusive new collection at JosephAbbound.com and in early 2015 the brand plans to open its first physical store thanks to parent company Men’s Wearhouse.

Pleasant Ridge, Mich. -- Belk has teamed with HelloWorld, a provider of rich engagement solutions, to launch Santa Baby Sweepstakes, a holiday-themed multi-channel incentive program accessible across digital and mobile channels.   

San Francisco –- Gap Inc. reported declining net and same-store sales for the third quarter and October 2014. For the third quarter Gap’s net sales were $3.97 billion, down 2.5% from $3.98 billion for the third quarter the prior year.