Discount Store

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings last week announced that it will close between 100 and 120 underperforming Sears and Kmart stores, following dismal holiday sales results for the brands.

The company said it has not yet identified which stores will be shuttered, but said that the closures are part of an overall plan to shift its focus from shoring up underperformers to concentrating its efforts on stronger stores.

New York City -- Sears Holdings Corp. hired Ron Boire, the former president and chief executive of Brookstone Inc. to lead its merchandising and retail stores for both the Sears and Kmart brands. Prior to Brookstone, Boire served as president, U.S. Toys, North America for Toys “R” Us from 2006 to 2009, where he was in charge of merchandising, marketing and operations

"We are in the midst of a transformation of our business, from top to bottom...," Sears CEO Lou D'Ambrosio said in a statement on Tuesday.

ATLANTA — K&G Fashion Superstore announced that has partnered with actor Blair Underwood to launch an exclusive line of men's tailored suits. The BU Collection will be available at select K&G stores and on KGstores.com.

"I wanted this collection to be available to every man without a steep price barrier," said Underwood. "I felt K&G was a great partner to launch this line because of their ability to bring well-made designer clothing to the public at affordable prices."

Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel drew a proverbial line in the sand last month when he noted the company’s same-stores sales performance in December would be better than the company’s modest showing in November.

Actually, what he said was, “For the month of December, our comparable-store sales results will compare the five weeks ending Dec. 31, 2011 to the five weeks ended Jan. 1, 2011. We expect a low to mid single-digit increase in Target’s comparable-store sales for this period, stronger than our November performance.”

New York City – Due to the holiday rush, Chain Store Age has extended the deadline for its 30th annual Retail Store of the Year Design Competition. Deadline submission is Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

Eligible projects are those completed between November 2010 and December 2011. Chain Store Age invites design firms, retailers architects, and suppliers to submit entries,

Twenty-one competition categories are featured, ranging from supermarkets and discount/mass merchants to specialty stores and pop-up stores.

New York City -- Sears Holdings Corp. has identified 79 of the 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores it said last week it would close, with the preliminary list split almost evenly between the two chains.

Florida will be hit the hardest, with 11 stores to be shuttered, the Associated Press reported. Ohio, Michigan and Georgia are not far behind with six store closures planned in their states. Tennessee, North Carolina and Minnesota are set to lose four stores each.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General was among the discount stores that benefited from a more cautious consumer spending in 2011, and the retailer expects that momentum to continue in 2012. The company announced that it plans to open 625 new stores and add more than 6,000 new jobs in 2012. These new stores and jobs will be spread among Dollar General’s 38-state operating area, plus California and Massachusetts.

There were no new surprises during November regarding prices at Target and Walmart.