eCommerce

Middleton, Wis. - American Girl is expanding south of the boarder.

The brand will make its debut in Mexico, opening in-store boutiques in department store El Palacio de Hierro’s locations in Interlomas and Perisur. The in-store shops, ranging in size from 1,500 sq. ft. to 2,000 sq. ft., open July 4.

Mexico marks the second international retail presence for American Girl, which opened its first Canadian store in October 2013.

A recently launched gifting Web site with a familiar sounding name promises to make it better to receive than give a gift.

The recently launched Web site GiftStarter – not Kickstarter – claims to be reinventing the gifting business so that family members, friends and co-workers are able to co-mingle individual budgets to offer recipients a more substantial gift.

Matthews, N.C. – The pending merger with Dollar Tree Inc. took a toll on Family Dollar’s profits in the third quarter.

Expenses related to the merger drove Family Dollar’s net income down 1.5% to $79.9 million from $81.1 million the year-ago period, below Wall Street expectations.

QVC has named a Procter & Gamble veteran as its next business planning and analysis chief, as the company looks to maximize efficiencies and organizational synergy.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., opened a new store in northeast Las Vegas on June 27. The 22,000-sq.-ft. store is located in Bonanza East Shopping Center at the intersection of North Eastern Avenue and East Bonanza Road, 1.5 miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas.  

The newest location brings the retailer’s total store count in the Las Vegas area to four.
 

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Alton, Illinois, on July 18.  

The 24,000-sq.-ft. store is located in Alton Square Mall, 20 miles north of downtown St. Louis.
 

Target Corp. is set to open its largest CityTarget store ever, and the first on the East Coast, at the end of July.

The Boston Globe reports the store, near Fenway Park in Boston, is the largest of the eight CityTargets the Minneapolis-based retail giant has opened since 2012.

CityTargets range in size from 80,000 square feet in Portland, Oregon to 125,000 square feet in downtown Chicago.

McLean, Va. – German discount grocer Lidl continues to lay the foundation for its store debut in the United States.

The company which is establishing a U.S. corporate headquarters, in Arlington County, Virginia, announced it will also open a regional headquarters and distribution center facility in Alamance County, North Carolina. The moves are part of Lidl’s early preparations to expand into the U.S. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/german-grocer-lidl-prepares-us-expansion-open-headquarters-virginia