Discount Store

Bentonville, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is closing its Moscow office but said it is still interested in the Russian market.

The retailer said Monday that it has been looking to enter the Russian market through an acquisition, but has not found a near-term opportunity so it does not need the Moscow office at this time.

ABILENE, Kan. - Duckwall-ALCO Stores reported that net sales from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 decreased 0.6% to $110.5 million and same-store sales decreased 2.3%.

Net loss for the third quarter was $2 million, or 53 cents per diluted share, compared with net loss of $1.4 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2010.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - TJX Companies announced that it will consolidate its A.J. Wright division by converting 91 A.J. Wright stores into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores and by closing the remaining 71 stores, A.J. Wright’s two distribution centers and its home office. This action is expected to improve the overall profitability of the company, and will allow TJX to focus its managerial and financial resources on its larger, more profitable businesses, all of which have major growth potential, as well as to serve the A.J.

Mobile, Ala. -- Centro Properties Group announced that Marshalls has opened a 26,000-sq.-ft. store at Springdale Mall, located in Mobile, Ala.

New York City-based Centro Properties Group is the owner of Springdale Mall.

Montvale, N.J. -- A report Friday said that Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. may file for bankruptcy in the coming days to restructure debt.

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported that a filing to reorganize under court protection may come as soon as this weekend. A&P hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to represent it in negotiations with creditors and in any Chapter 11 proceeding, according to the report.

Abilene, Kan. -- Duckwall-Alco Stores reported Friday that its loss for the quarter ended Oct. 31 widened from $1.4 million to $2 million.

The small-town retailer also reported that revenue dropped 0.6% to $110.5 million. Same-store sales decreased 2.3%, which was an improvement over the second-quarter same-store sales drop of 7.2%.

Framingham, Mass. -- TJX Cos. said Friday it will close its A.J. Wright discount stores by mid-February, cutting 4,400 jobs. The move comes as the company’s T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains have become better at attracting the lower-income customers that A.J. Wright targeted.

Ninety-one A.J. Wright stores will be converted into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores, and 71 stores and two DC’s will close entirely. About 3,400 employees will keep their jobs and another 4,400 – half part-time and half full-time – will be cut.

Gainesville, Ga. -- The Atlanta office of Dallas-based SRS Real Estate Partners said that Shoe Carnival recently opened a 9,165-sq.-ft. store in Gainesville, Ga., in the Village Shoppes at Gainesville.

Neighboring retailers include Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, Old Navy and Publix.

The landlord of the center is Inland US Management, LLC.