Discount Store

Macy’s is committed to giving back this winter through its “Buy 1 & We’ll Give 1” effort. Through October 26, Macy’s will donate one coat, up to 50,000 coats, to Clothe4Souls for every coat purchased in the men’s, women’s, juniors’ and children’s departments in Macy’s stores and on macys.com.

The joy of giving will also be a joy of saving, as Macy’s will offer 30-50% discount on a large selection of men’s, women’s and children’s coats during the campaign.

Los Angeles --Great American Group has been selected as a stalking horse bidder in the potential liquidation of Alco Stores, which operates 198 general merchandise discount stores in 23 states. Great American is a leading provider of asset disposition and auction solutions, advisory and valuation services, capital investment, and real estate advisory services.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores Inc. has set Oct. 30., 2014 as the date for stockholders to vote on a proposed merger agreement with Dollar Tree Inc. Family Dollar has not yet set the time or location of the vote.  

Beachwood, Ohio --DDR Corp. and an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII announced that a joint venture formed by the pair has closed on the acquisition of 71 shopping centers previously owned by American Realty Capital Properties for $1.93 billion.

By Chris Donnelly, managing director for retail, Accenture Strategy   What do supermarkets have to gain from a price war? Judging from the battles that have been raging around the world of late, the answer is--nothing. Experience shows that they are truly a “race to the bottom”--aside from the consumer, the only possible winner is the lowest cost provider. Food retailers, however, have options for how to avoid getting drawn into a costly price war.   

New York -- Holiday shopping is going to start early this year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ latest consumer tracking survey. About 35% of consumers have or will have started their holiday shopping by the end of October. Roughly three out of five shoppers will begin shopping by Thanksgiving this year, and by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend 86% will have started making purchases.   

Regional discounter Shopko has added a range of omnichannel capabilities to its retail operations just in time for what is expected to be the most digital Christmas ever.

Shopko announced the rollout of expanded omnichannel capabilities it said would provide shoppers more access to products, the ability to buy products on-line and ship them to store for free. The capabilities were extended to 310 of the company’s locations.

Washington, D.C. -- The average person celebrating Christmas, Kwanza and/or Hanukkah will spend $804.42, up nearly 5% from 2013’s actual $767.27, according to the National Retail Federation’s 13th annual Holiday Consumer Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. In other results, the average shopper plans to do 44% of their holiday shopping online, the most in the survey’s history.