Discount Store

New York -- Discounters reported strong-than-expected sales for August, fueled by back-to-school shopping, promotions and cooler weather in the Northeast.

Costco Wholesale Corp.'s same-store sales in August rose 6%, beating the 4.5% rise analysts had projected.

Target Corp. reported a 4.2% increase in same-store sales, better than the 3.1% increase that analysts had expected.

A back-to-basics approach in Walmart’s apparel department has enabled the company to produce a modest degree of sales growth, but other value players are delivering high single digit comps.

Walmart reported its second consecutive quarter of positive same store sales in the apparel category during the second quarter when it produced a low single digit gain.

Ross Stores and The TJX companies both reported a better-than-expected 8% same store sales increase during August. Shoppers continued to beat a path to Ross and TJX stores during August where exceptionally strong sales suggest consumers are unrelenting in their search for value amid protracted economic weakness.

New York -- Shares of Sears Holdings were under heavy selling pressure Thursday morning, sliding 7% to $53.38 on Standard & Poor's. S&P plans to remove the chain from its S&P 500 Index because the chain’s public float has has been below the index's 50% threshold for an extended period of time.

The Sears' name, in one form or another, has been in the S&P 500 since it was created some 55 years ago. Sears will be removed from the index at the close of trading on Sept. 4. The retailer will be replaced by chemical maker LyondellBasell.

Mountain View, Calif. -- Best Buy tops a list of the most effective back-to-school advertisers, according to Ace Metrix, which provides television and video analytics. An ad promoting free kids’ haircuts at J.C. Penney also was a top perfomer.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — The first of 39 former Zellers stores Walmart bought from Target in Canada celebrated its grand opening as a Walmart store earlier this month.

According to Walmart Canada, the 69,000 sq. ft. store located in Newmarket, Ontario, will feature easy-to-navigate aisles with directional signage, and a bright interior color palette to define the store's merchandise areas along with lower shelving to improve sightlines. The store will also conain a pharmacy.

Target’s second quarter sales increased 3.5% to $16.5 billion and the company’s profits grew 2.9% to $1.06, five cents better than analysts expected.

The company’s second quarter results were negatively affected by pre-opening expenses related to next year’s entry into Canada. Excluding those expenses, Target said its profits would have increased 4.6% to $1.12 compared to $1.07 last year. Including expenses related to Canada, Target increased its full year profit forecast to a range of $4.20 to $4.40 from an earlier guidance range of $4.10 to $4.30.

By Jim Hogan, [email protected]

The retail industry is a bellwether for U.S financial health given that consumer spending is roughly 60%-70% of the economy. While the economy has sent mixed signals of late -- consumer confidence down, unemployment up -- consumer credit has swung up decidedly and leading companies in a wide swath of retail segments can point to positive year-over-year same store sales. This is prompting some retailers -- particularly discount stores--to begin opening new stores.