Discount Store

New York -- BFC Partners, a New York real estate development company, announced plans to develop a new retail complex and hotel, with the working name of Harbor Commons, on a site adjacent to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark in St. George, Staten Island, N.Y.
 
Harbor Commons will be an approximately 350,000-sq.-ft. retail complex along with a 120,000-sq.-ft. hotel, totaling 470,000 sq. ft. The retail complex will be comprised of approximately 100 designer outlets along with a variety of restaurants and cafes.
 

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores announced the grand opening of 12 stores, creating approximately 1,500 jobs nationwide. The company now operates 1,146 stores in 49 states.

The company is celebrating the grand opening of 12 stores in 10 states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Of the 12 new locations, 11 are small format stores with approximately 64,000 sq. ft. or less of retail space.

Each year, since the “big recession,” retailers have been putting out their holiday decorations and starting their promotional sales as early as mid-October. It used to be that Black Friday was the kick-off that got everyone out to the stores in search of that must-have discounted gift for their loved ones. This year, however, the calendar barely hit September and I saw Christmas trees on display at my local Costco and retailers announcing their layaway program incentives.

New York -- A U.S. judge in San Francisco has certified a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. that involved allegations of gender discrimination in the store's promotion practices.

“Costco offers numerous competing explanations for the observed gender disparity in promotions,” U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said in the ruling, Bloomberg reported. “None of these explanations undermine the companywide nature of the challenged policies and their disparate effects.”

WASHINGTON — The air is getting colder and retailers are already gearing up for the Christmas season, but before they do that, they will have to get through Halloween.

Cincinnati -- Macy's is enhancing its presence in the Las Vegas market. The department store retailer has signed on as the first anchor tenant at the Shops at Summerlin, in west Las Vegas.  

Macy’s will build a two-level, 180,000-sq.-ft. store in the open- air center, which is being developed by The Howard Hughes Corp. The new Macy’s is expected to open in fall 2014, with construction beginning in fall 2013.

The 1.5 million sq.-ft. Summerlin will feature over 125 stores and restaurants.

New Delhi, India -- A Friday report by the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. expects to open its first retail stores in India within the next 12 to 18 months.

In an interview with WSJ, Scott Price, Asia president and CEO of Wal-Mart, said that the retailer has not pinpointed where the first stores will be located or ultimately how many there will be. But the latest decision handed down by the Indian government allowing megastore retailers to enter the country via joint ventures paved the way for the impending openings.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it will add about 50,000 seasonal associates to staff its stores this year, as well as offer additional hours to existing personnel.

“This is our busiest time of the year and we are focused even more on providing excellent service to our shoppers throughout the holiday season,” said Gisel Ruiz, executive VP and COO, Walmart U.S. “One way we do that is by ensuring our stores are adequately staffed by our associates.”