Mass Merchant

Costco reported net sales of $8 billion for the four weeks ended Feb. 2, representing an increase of 6% from the similar four-week period last year.

Comparable store sales across Costco's U.S. store base were up 5%.

For the 22 weeks ended Feb. 2, Costco reported net sales of $46.3 billion, representing a similar increase of 6% versus the year-ago period.

The company plans to release its operating results for the second quarter Thursday, March 6.

Issaquah, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Club’s same-store sales rose 4% in January, topping analysts' expectations. The metric rose 5% in the United States, and was 1% internationally.

Removing the impact of lower gas prices and foreign currency fluctuations, same-store sales were up 6%, rising 5% in the United States and 8% overseas.

For the 22 weeks ended Feb. 2, Costco reported net sales of $46.3 billion, representing a similar increase of 6% versus the year-ago period.

Seattle — Nordstrom has announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Mercer Mall near Princeton, N.J. Plans call for the approximately 35,000-sq.-ft. store to open in the spring of 2015.

Mercer Mall is owned and managed by Federal Realty Investment Trust www.federalrealty.com. The new store will add to the current tenant line up, which includes T.J.Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, DSW and Shop Rite.

Target plans to open a new store in the city of Kahulu — its first on the island of Maui in Hawaii — in March 2015. The store will be located on Hookele Street as part of the Pu‘unēnē Shopping Center.

The 140,000-sq.-ft. store will feature Target’s everyday essentials and exclusive brands along with a selection of fresh produce, fresh packaged meat and pre-packaged baked goods, as well as a Starbucks and a Target Pharmacy.

Chattanooga, Tenn. — Dick’s Sporting Goods is moving across the street from the periphery of the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pa., into the mall, according to CBL & Associates Properties, the mall’s owner. The existing Dick’s Sporting Goods will remain open until the new store completes construction. Plans call for a grand opening this summer.

Target CFO John Mulligan ably represented the company in testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday, but the one in the hot seat should have been chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.
 
Recall when the nation’s bankrupt automakers needed a bailout, it was the CEOs of General Motors and Chrysler who appeared before legislators. And when big banks came under fire for their role in the housing crisis it was the financial firms’ CEOs who endured lawmakers pointed questions.

London – Topshop/Topman plans to open a 40,000-sq-ft. flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. The new Manhattan store will be located on the corner of 49th Street, and is adjacent to the Rockefeller Center.

Seattle-based Nordstrom plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Christiana Fashion Center in Newark, Del. The approximately 35,000-sq.-ft. store, which is scheduled to open in fall 2015, is the company’s first Rack location in the state.

The single-level, newly built Nordstrom Rack is located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Route 1, adjacent to Christiana Mall and will be surrounded by a strong tenant mix.