Discount Store

Walmart chief marketing and merchandising officer Duncan Mac Naughton told investors during an October meeting that the retailer would have the largest share of voice during the holiday season and that was certainly evident during November, according to data released this week from Kantar Media Ad Intelligence and Placed.

Ottawa, Ontario -- Black Friday deep discounts could be a myth, with only a few retailers dropping prices on only a few categories. Some key findings from pricing intelligence technology provider 360pi based on Amazon's own assortment in eight categories, including TVs, video games, tablets and digital cameras, show that:

Northbrook, Ill. — StreetMac Asset Managers and Five Mile Capital Partners LLC have joined forces to recapitalize Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, Ill.

The 1.3 million-sq.-ft. mall features more than 100 stores and restaurants, a 14-screen cinema complex and national retail anchors including Macy’s, Sears, Carson Pirie Scott, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s and Burlington Coat Factory.

Boulder, Colo. -- Nordstrom is North America’s overall favorite fashion retailer for the second consecutive time, according to a new study of more than 6,800 consumers conducted by Market Force Information (Market Force), a provider of customer intelligence solutions.

Kohl’s is the most visited for casual clothing, business attire and children’s clothing, while Dick’s Sporting Goods won out for sports apparel and DSW for footwear.

Canadian dollar-store operator Dollarama reported an increase in sales and an improvement in net earnings for the third quarter ended Nov. 3. The quarter was characterized by continued growth in the store network and solid comparable store sales growth.

Sales for the quarter increased by 14.2% to $522.9 million from $458 million in the year-ago period. The increase was driven, in part, by the growth in the number of stores in the past 12 months, from 761 stores on Oct. 28, 2012 to 847 stores on Nov. 3, 2013.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Dollar General delivered some impressive financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 as traffic improved and shoppers spent more per transaction on average. The retailer said it plans to open approximately 700 stores in fiscal 2014 and remodel or relocate approximately 525 locations, expanding store selling square footage by 6% to 7%.

Dollar General’s net income increased by a better-than-expected 14% to $237 million in the 2013 third quarter compared to $208 million in year-ago period.

New York  — DryClean NYC has signed a lease for a fourth location in Upper Manhattan, according to Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, Joseph A. Aquino, executive VP and Arthur Maglio of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group, who arranged the lease. The new store will open at 708 St. Nicholas Avenue, between 145 and 146th Streets.

This is the fifth lease the Retail Group has arranged in the building. The other four stores include Sugar Hill Medical Plaza, Unity Wines & Spirits, W Dental and Metro PCS.

New York -- Sales at U.S. chain stores were up 2.1% in November, or 3% without the effects of gasoline sales, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. The group had predicted an increase of 3.5% to 4.5%.

“Sales were constrained by weak apparel sales this month,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist, ICSC. “November was a very competitive environment for retailers, and the softness in the November tally suggests some cautiousness by consumers.”