eCommerce

New York City -- Cushman & Wakefield announced that Stella McCartney, the fashion and accessories retailer and daughter of Paul McCartney, will open a new store at 112 Greene Street between Prince and Spring Streets, in the SoHo area of Manhattan.

The opening is planned for the fall.

Stella McCartney will occupy approximately 5,200 total sq. ft. between the ground floor and lower level in a 10-year lease.

New York City -- Wal-Mart will debut its Walmart Express format on June 8, in Gentry, Ark. The 15,000-sq-.ft.-store will sell many of the product categories that a traditional Walmart carries, from general merchandise to consumables. There is also a pharmacy. But it will have from 11,000 to 13,000 items, compared with the more than 100,000 items found in a typical supercenter.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said its same-store sales role 5.6% in May, better than Wall Street expected.

Walgreen said pharmacy revenue from those stores rose 6.7% as it filled 7.1% more prescriptions. Front-end same-store sales grew 3.6%.

The company also said it completed its acquisition of Drugstore.com, an online health and beauty retailer. Walgreen agreed to buy the company in March for $429 million.

BENSALEM, Pa. — Charming Shoppes reported that consolidated net sales for the first quarter ended April 30 were $504.4 million, compared with $504.8 million for the three months ended May 1, 2010. Net sales results included a 2% increase in comparable-store sales and an increase in e-commerce sales, offset by the impact of operating 139 (or 7%) fewer stores than in the year-ago period. E-commerce sales increased to $36.6 million in the first quarter, compared with $31.6 million in the year-ago period.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. and WESTBOROUGH, Mass.  — Costco Wholesale and BJ’s Wholesale reported strong sales growth and produced impressive comps even without the benefit of fuel sales.

Costco reported that net sales for the month of May increased 17% to $7.14 billion from $6.09 billion last year. This year’s May results period included sales from the company's Mexico joint venture. If these sales are excluded, Costco’s net sales increase would have been 14%.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples has announced new appointments at its European division. Amee Chande has been named managing director U.K. retail and direct and Andrew Gabriel has been named director technology and services European retail.

Chande will have overall responsibility for Staples retail and delivery businesses in the United Kingdom, a key market for the company. Chande joined Staples in 2009 as SVP strategy, responsible for developing and driving the company’s growth agenda.

 NEW YORK  — A sluggish economy, cool weather and high prices at the pump tempered retail sales in May, as retailers reported mixed results for the month. Retail Metrics projected an increase of 5.1% for the 25 chains tracked, which would mark the 21st straight monthly gain from September 2009.

Retailers who turned in strong performances in May included Macy’s, with a 7.4% rise in same-store sales when a 5.6% increase was expected. The company lifted its full-year same-stores sales estimate.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Same-store sales at Rite Aid increased by 1.3% in May, compared with the year-ago period, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

Reporting sales for the five-week period that ended May 28, Rite Aid said front-end same-store sales increased 1.8%, while same-store sales in the pharmacy increased by 1%, including a 129-basis point offset due to introductions of new generic drugs. Prescription count increased 0.1%.

Total drug store sales during the period were nearly $2.5 billion, a 1% increase over $2.45 billion in May 2010.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings has announced the winner of its "Tu Empresa, Tu Futuro/Your Company, Your Future Business" grant competition, which provides grants to Hispanic small business owners.

The four $5,000 grants were awarded to:

• Tayde Aburto, The Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce

• Jennifer Burrell, The Frock Shop

• Elizabeth Tarpley, Targeted Tech Solutions

• Kristen Harris, Party Palette

New York City -- New York City remains the world’s most expensive retail destination as retailers focus on the major fashion capitals pushing global rents in prime locations even higher, according to the latest CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Global Retail MarketView.

The average rent for space along Fifth Avenue from 49th Street up to 59th Street hit $1,900 per square foot in the first quarter. Hong Kong and Sydney came in second and third place in the rankings, with average per-square-foot rents of $1,697 and $1,301, respectively.