Mass Merchant

New York -- Panera Bread would like its customers to leave their guns at home. The bakery-cafe chain joined a handful of other high-profile retailers, including Starbucks, Chipotle, and Target, to make the request.  

Ankeny, Iowa – Dick’s Sporting Goods and Gordmans are reportedly the anchor stores for a proposed shopping center in Ankeny, Iowa. According to the Des Moines Register, St. Louis-based developer Staenberg Group seeks to begin construction on the project, known as Delaware Commons, in the fall.

Staenberg Group is seeking to obtain environmental permits relating to wetlands on the property. The center also has space for a third main anchor store, several junior anchors, and other small stores and restaurants.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have amended their merger agreement to include a commitment by Dollar Tree to divest as many stores as necessary or advisable to obtain antitrust clearance for the previously announced cash and stock transaction.

All other terms and conditions of the merger agreement remain the same as announced on July 28, 2014. The two companies also said that their expectations for a closing date for the transaction have accelerated to as early as the end of November 2014.

Franklin, Tenn. - Worldwide POS hardware shipments showed a sharp increase in the first half of 2014. According to IHL Group's POS Vendor Data Service, which tracks POS shipments by vendors and retail segments worldwide, in the first six months of the year, Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) and North America showed by far the greatest growth in POS shipments.

Redlands, Calif. -- Majestic Realty Retail announced today that it has signed lease agreements with four new retailers at its Mountain Grove at Citrus Plaza retail and entertainment center, including agreements with The Gap (7,500 sq. ft.), Banana Republic (7,500 sq. ft.), Old Navy (15,000 sq. ft.) and Ulta (10,000 sq. ft.).  An additional 100,000 sq. ft. of national and regional tenant leases are under negotiation and expected to be signed in September.

Target is expanding its TargetExpress format outside the Minneapolis area for the first time. The retailer plans to open two new stores in San Francisco’s financial district and Berkeley, California, in March 2015.

Matthews, N.C. — Family Dollar Stores on Friday rejected the sweetened, $9.1 billion take-over bid made by Dollar General on Sept.

Minneapolis - Target Corp. plans to open two new smaller-format TargetExpress stores in San Francisco’s Financial District and Berkeley, California, in March 2015. Target’s first TargetExpress store opened this year in Minneapolis, and the San Francisco-area stores will mark the first time Target is expanding this format outside the Minneapolis area.