Discount Store

New York - A majority of parents plan to spend more on their children's back-to-school shopping this year, driven by rising costs or necessity rather than greater spending power. According the Accenture Back-to-School Shopping Survey, which polled 500 U.S. parents of children entering kindergarten through college, nearly all (89%) plan to do most of their back-to-school shopping in a physical store, though many will still use online to browse and search, or "webrooming."

Chicago – Retail experts from professional services and investment management firm JLL are managing two new shopping centers. JLL has been retained by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. to manage Beverly Connection, a 348,285-sq.-ft. shopping mall in Los Angeles, and also been retained by 759 Ventures LLC to manage the 58,280-sq.-ft. 2424 North Davidson Street center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

New York - Households with school-aged children (pre-school through 12th grade) plan to spend more this year on back-to-school necessities with a predicted increase of 9 % for an average spend of $655, according to the 15th annual survey conducted by Brand Keys.

Average anticipated spending in all major back-to-school categories reflect higher levels from 2013:

Clothing: $348 (+16%)
Shoes (athletic & dress) $127 (+15%)
Supplies $ 89 (+13%)
Computers/Electronics/
Tablets/Smartphones: $213 (+12%)

Jim Wade, who has 35 years of experience in retail, is the newest member of closeout retailer Tuesday Morning’s board of directors. Wade will be part of the board’s audit committee.

Chesapeake, Va. - In a merger that will shake up the dollar store retail vertical, Dollar Tree is acquiring Family Dollar for $8.5 billion in cash and stock. The resulting company will operate more than 13,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada, with an annual sales volume of $18 billion.

Fashionable new product assortments and innovative customers conveniences supported by clever marketing are being used by Sears and Kmart to entice parents and students this back-to-school season.

Channeling his inner Sam Walton this week, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon rattled the company with the unexpected appointment of a relatively unknown newcomer to replace Bill Simon as CEO of its largest and most profitable division.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has lost its bid to keep files regarding an internal probe of possible bribes paid to Mexican officials to aid real estate deals out of the hands of investors. The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a 2013 ruling by a lower Delaware state court mandating that Wal-Mart provide the files to several investors.