Discount Store

Bensalem, Pa. -- Charming Shoppes said it would close 240 unprofitable stores in 2011, or nearly 12% of its total outlets, and that more than half of those would be Fashion Bug stores.
 
The locations were not disclosed.

The company said all 30 of its Catherines Plus Sizes stores in outlet locations would be shuttered over a two-year period.
 

Burlington, N.J. -- Purchase, N.Y.-based National Realty & Development Corp. said Monday it will expand Liberty Square Center in Burlington, N.J. The construction will take place over the next 12 months and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2012.

SALISBURY, N.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Food Lion Family, Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food with its 10th consecutive Energy Star award. The company was one of 46 organizations recognized in the sustained excellence category and among 111 overall 2011 ENERGY STAR award winners chosen from more than 20,000 partners in the ENERGY STAR program.

Chicago -- Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Mid-America Asset Management said that Dollar Tree recently signed a lease for 10,900 sq. ft. at West Aurora Plaza in West Aurora, Ill., a western suburb of Chicago.

The new store is slated to open this June in a former Aronson Furniture space.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears and Kmart stores nationwide will participate in the global Earth Hour initiative by turning off or dimming all non-essential lighting March 26 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., including every other television and most computer monitors. The company anticipates saving 80,000 kilowatt hours as a result.

Dollar General maintained its momentum in 2010 by achieving record sales, profits and expansion and it’s looking like 2011 will bring more of the same. Last year, Dollar General opened 600 new stores and remodeled or relocated another 504 units to end its fiscal year on Jan. 28 with 9,372 stores. The additional square footage combined with a 4.9% same store sales increase enabled the company to grow total sales by 10.5% to roughly $13 billion.

Hingham, Mass. -- The Talbots reported Thursday a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss, and said it plans to expand its store re-image program to improve traffic. The chain also it expects to close as many as 100 stores over the next two years.

Talbots lost $2.8 million in the quarter ended Jan. 29, compared with a loss of $1.5 million in the year-ago period.

Net sales fell 7.4% to $292.6 million, compared with $315.9 million in the same period last year. Same-store sales dropped 7.3%.

Walmart’s small format desires certainly haven’t gone unnoticed by the folks at Dollar General, a company that appears bent on saturating the marketplace with small discount stores. Last year, Dollar General opened 600 new stores and remodeled or relocated 504 other stores to end its fiscal year with 9,372 stores. This year, more of the same is planned with the expansion figure getting a bump to 625 new units, while the number of remodels and relocations expands to 550 units.