Discount Store

Target’s longstanding pricing philosophy of remaining within a few percentage points of Walmart remains intact, according to the most recently monthly pricing survey from Credit Suisse. The firm looks at prices on a basket of goods in Dallas and Chicago each month, and in January it revealed the gap between Walmart and Target had widened to 3.9% from 3.7% in December.

Rockville, Md. -- Federal Realty Investment Trust said Monday that The Fresh Market will open a new store at Congressional Plaza, a 332,000-sq.-ft. regional shopping center in Rockville, Md.

The store, the specialty grocer’s first in Montgomery County, will measure 19,860 sq. ft. Recent openings at the center include Last Call Studio by Neiman Marcus and Matchbox Vintage Pizza Bistro.

Acquired by Federal Realty in 1965, Congressional Plaza is a regional shopping destination anchored by Buy Buy Baby and The Container Store.

Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears offer free delivery and installation of major appliances, and now Best Buy does too. The company this week announced what it declared was an industry-leading combination of free delivery along with an 18 months same-as-cash financing offer to spark interest in the appliance category.

Target is set to report February same-store sales this Thursday and offer the first data point of the new fiscal year in which same-store sales are forecast to increase in the range of 4% to 5%. For February, the company has forecast a low single-digit increase and last week in conjunction with the release of fourth-quarter results confirmed it was on track to meet the low single-digit number.

Beaumont, Texas -- Electronics and appliances retailer Conns announced Monday that its president and CEO Timothy L. Frank has resigned the company.

Conns named Theodore M. Wright as the interim CEO and president, and has launched a search for a permanent replacement.

Frank has led the company as president and CEO since June 2009; he has been president since April 2006, and previously served as COO and senior VP retail.

Frank left to pursue other opportunities, the company said.

New York City -- Target Corp. said its annual sales may top $100 billion within the next seven years, with revenue boosted by its first expansion outside the United States, Bloomberg reported.

The chain also may double earnings per share over that period, CFO Douglas Scovanner said Thursday on a conference call after fourth-quarter results. Net income in the period ended Jan. 29 rose 11% to $1.04 billion.

Allen, Texas -- The Weitzman Group announced that Edwin Watts Golf Shop has leased 4,125 sq. ft. of retail space in Twin Creeks Village, located in Allen, Texas, north of Dallas.

At Twin Creeks Village, Edwin Watts Golf joins a line-up that includes Tom Thumb, Staples, Hobby Lobby, Petco, 24 Hour Fitness, Stacy Furniture and many more.

New York City -- Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB (Walmex) plans to increase investment by 45% in 2011 from last year as it expands its business in Mexico and Central America, Bloomberg reported.

Capital expenditures will increase to 18.97 billion pesos ($1.56 billion) this year, CEO Scot Rank said in remarks broadcast on the company’s website.