Discount Store

New York City -- Centro Properties Group US announced that three Big Lots have joined its portfolio, encompassing 92,006 sq. ft. and bringing Big Lots’ total store count with Centro to 49 locations.

A 30,000-sq.-ft. Big Lots opened at Arapahoe Crossings, in Aurora, Colo.; a 28,000-sq.-ft. store opened at Lagniappe Village, in New Iberia, La.; and a 34,006-sq.-ft. lease has been executed with Big Lots at Panama City Square, located in Panama City, Fla.
 

Philadelphia -- According to a survey released Tuesday by global management consultancy Hay Group, 68% of retailers expect holiday sales to increase this year. However, hiring plans remain conservative, with 67% of retailers hiring at the same level as last year and 25% hiring fewer seasonal workers.

NEW YORK — Macy’s reported that its same-store sales rose 5% in August, beating estimates. The retailer said sales would have been higher by 1.5% points without the impact of Hurricane Irene. Industry analysts had warned that the storm would impact department stores and specialty retailers the most as consumers focused on buying generators and other emergency and recovery items versus back-to-school and discretionary products.

New York City -- Despite low consumer confidence, the volatile economy and a hurricane, many retailers reported better-than-expected sales in August. Hurricane Irene appeared to put a dent in the results of some retailers on the East Coast, but the storm did not appear to do as serious damage as some expected.

Total retail sales rose 4.4%, just missing the 4.6% rise that Wall Street analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters. Of the 19 out of the 25 retailers that Thomson Reuters tracks, 11 beat expectations.

NEW YORK — Sears and Kmart stores announced that they are supporting emergency relief efforts in a dozen states to help residents recover from Hurricane Irene’s damaging winds and floodwaters.

Sears and Kmart stores will offer discounts on recovery items in stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Key discounts include:

Kmart:

When we think of our neighbors to the north in Canada, there are plenty of iconic symbols and traditions that come to mind: hockey, moose and the Mounties to name a few. When it comes to retail real estate in Canada, something else that could be considered “iconic” would be the fact that many regional malls there often have supermarkets as their major anchor.

New York City -- BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco and Target all beat Wall Street expectations in August, helped by consumers seeking out emergency supplies and clean-up items as they prepared for and then dealt with Hurricane Irene.

BJ's Wholesale Club’s same-store sales jumped 11.5% in August, beating analysts' predictions for a 7.8% increase. The retailer said that gasoline sales contributed about 3.6 percentage points to the increase, and hurricane-related sales contributed another 2.5 to 3 percentage points.

The increases in average transaction size and customer traffic that Target credited with driving its 4.1% same-store sales increase during August is unwelcome news for Walmart. This is especially true since the biggest gains continue to come in categories where Walmart is traditionally strongest and is intent on demonstrating price leadership.