Mass Merchant

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.

Minneapolis – John Mulligan, executive VP and CFO of Target, said the retailer is deeply sorry for its late 2013 data security breach and is aware that consumer confidence in the company is shaken; his comments came during Feb. 4 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

According to Reuters, Mulligan also said that Target discovered 25 registers infected with malware on Dec. 18, contradicting an earlier statement from the retailer that all malware had been removed by Dec. 15.

Pleasanton, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., will relocate its Arlington, Texas, store on Feb. 8. The newly relocated store is in Four Corners Shopping Center.

Overall, DD’s Discounts operates 131 locations in 10 states, including 25 in Texas.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is encouraged by passage of the Save American Workers Act of 2013 (H.R. 2575) out of the Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. According to RILA, the act is an important first step in changing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition of full-time employees from 30 hours of service to a definition more in-line with employment practices.

The Wet Seal board member Mindy C. Meads has resigned her spot to focus on her new role as CEO of Calypso St. Barth.

“Mindy has been a valued member of the board of directors and we wish her well in her future endeavors with Calypso St. Barth. Mindy’s leadership as chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and her general contributions to the board were a value to the company and its shareholders,” said Lynda Davey, non-executive chairperson.

Mississauga, Ont. – Wal-Mart Canada plans to complete 35 supercenter projects in the company's fiscal year which runs from February 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015. The company also will expand its distribution network to support its growth and will continue to expand its Canadian e-commerce operation.  

After taking a look at some of the post-holiday sales figures, it seems like maybe I was a little too pessimistic. While the overall 2013 holiday season’s sales aren’t particularly impressive, they aren’t flat, either — which is an outcome that I had worried about.

Minneapolis – John J. Mulligan, CFO and executive VP of Target, is publicly calling for U.S. businesses to adopt chip-enabled smartcards. In a column published in the Congressional blog of political site The Hill, Mulligan said the attack on Target exposed the sophistication of today’s hackers and that the retailer had already been striving toward adopting chip-enabled smartcards, used in most of the rest of the world, before the holiday 2013 data breach.