Discount Store

Target has its low price promise, 5% REDcard Rewards and this week, just in time for Easter, its circular is filled with 50% off deals on toys from Star Wars, Mega Bloks, Disney and Fisher-Price toys. And if those offers aren’t incentive enough to generate a visit to the local Target the company also featured eight free gift card offers ranging in denominations from $5 for any two Procter & Gamble brand products to $35 for a $179 B70 Platinum Edition Keurig brand coffee maker.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores Inc.'s second-quarter earnings rose 10.7% as increased customer traffic fueled higher sales. Its results topped analysts’ expectations.

The discounter said its net profit rose to $136.4 million for its fiscal second quarter ended Feb. 25, 2012, from $123.2 million a year earlier.

Walk into a Target store anywhere in the U.S. and it’s a safe bet there will be at least a few customer rummaging through the bins of single price point merchandise in the Dollar Spot located just inside store entrances. The ever changing assortment’s treasure hunt appeal and single price point value proposition are simply too much for many customers to bypass. It is enough to make wanna-be merchants wonder if further expansion of the concept makes sense for Target, especially considering the raging success companies such as Dollar General and Family Dollar are having.

Chicago -- Eidco Construction announced that the firm has won a 65,000-sq.-ft. renovation project at the Westgate Mall in Brainerd and Baxter, Minn.

Currently in progress, the project was designed by Chipman Design Architecture, in collaboration with Ringdahl Architects, and involves a number of interior tenant improvements, along with exterior façade work and the construction of a building addition.

Dallas -- The Retail Connection and North American Development Group announced the purchase of Towne Centre Plaza, a 94,109-sq.-ft. property located across from Town East Mall in Mesquite, Texas. 

The shopping center was built in 2002 on 8.8 acres and features Bed Bath & Beyond and Best Buy as tenants. The Retail Connection is currently in negotiations for the 23,000-sq.-ft. vacancy in the center with a national tenant, which, when leased will bring the center back to 100% occupancy.

New York -- Dollar General Corp. will buy back about $300 million in shares from Buck Holdings L.P., the company's controlling shareholder.

The repurchase deal with Buck Holdings is part of the company's previously announced $500 million stock buyback program, Dollar General said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

NEW YORK — Fortune has released its 2012 list of the most admired companies, and it should come as no surprise that Apple topped the list. Even with the passing of Steve Jobs, the company didn't miss a beat delivering products that are still in high demand, increasing sales and delivering soaring profits for its investors.

Also on the list were a number of retailers including third-ranked Amazon.com, 20th-ranked Costco Wholesale, 24th-ranked Wal-Mart Stores, 25th-ranked Target, 28th-ranked Whole Foods Market and 41st ranked eBay.

NEW YORK — Closed by floods in May 2010, the Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th at Opry Mills in Nashville, Tenn., will reopen on March 29.

Located next to the Grand Ole Opry House, the approximate 27,500-sq.-ft. store will be located in the Opry Mills Shopping Center. Operated by Simon Malls, upon completion, the center will be the largest shopping outlet in Tennessee, with over 200 stores, multiple restaurants and an in-house movie theater.