Mass Merchant

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Black Friday shopping may be on the decline, according to a new study by CFI Group, a customer satisfaction technology and analytics firm. The company’s 2013 Holiday Retail Spending Report found fewer than 25% of consumers plan to spend more than half of their total holiday shopping budgets during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period. But 45% said they will begin before November, with 61% indicating they'll finish their shopping completely by early December

Walmart will be opening more small stores next year and beyond as the company pursues a vision of omnichannel retailing that it contends no other company is capable of executing.

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon on Tuesday morning shared a message of physical and digital convergence involving an acceleration of smaller format stores and continued advancement of the retailer’s digital capabilities. He suggested multiple times during his presentation that the company has reached an inflection point in terms of building a next generation retail enterprise.

Seattle -- Nordstrom plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at the Village at Dublin in Dublin, Calif. The approximately 35,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2015. The center is being developed by Regency Centers Corp.

Rogers, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores is focused on near-term execution to grow its same-store U.S. sales, improve returns in Walmart International and leverage expenses for the full year, company president and CEO Mike Duke said Tuesday at the company’s 20th annual meeting for the investment community.
    

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores detailed a number of moves, including opening smaller stores in the United States, cutting back on overseas growth and increasing its investments in technology and e-commerce,  on the occasion of the  company’s 20th annual investor meeting.

Dallas and New Orleans — The Howard Hughes Corp. has announced the tenant lineup for the redevelopment of Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans. The $70 million renovation is transforming the aging mall into The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, the nation’s first downtown outlet center.

According to Hughes Corp., virtually all of the space in the new Riverwalk has been committed, and well-known national outlet retailers and popular local retail, dining and entertainment offerings hold 94% of the leases.

Pleasanton, Calif. — Ross Dress for Less opened 24 new locations last Friday, on Oct. 11. The openings complete the retailer’s 2013 expansion plan to open 65 new locations this year.

The new store openings bring the total of Ross stores to 1,154. Four of the new Ross stores opened in Illinois, three in Missouri and one in Indiana, as the retailer continues its growth in new markets it has entered over the past two years.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar has elevated Jason Reiser to the position of senior VP/lead merchandising officer at Family Dollar, according to an internal memo from company president and COO Mike Bloom.