Mass Merchant

Columbus, Ohio – The board of directors of Big Lots, Inc. has retained director Russell Solt. Solt will also continue to serve as chairman of the compensation committee, which is composed entirely of independent non-executive directors.

Armonk, N.Y. – Back-to-school sales may have been stronger than anticipated this year, judging by online sales performance in July and August. According to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, online sales saw substantial gains from July through the third week in August, fueled by double-digit growth in mobile buying.

Specific findings for online sales activity in each month include:

July

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. has been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings, which is designed to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Big Lots has reappointed Russell Solt to its board of directors after determining that the move is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. 

Solt will also continue to serve as chairman of the compensation committee, which is composed entirely of independent non-executive directors. Consistent with the terms of the company's other directors, Solt's term will run until the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders.

San Diego – Ninety-three percent of U.S. families are doing back-to-school shopping for students age 18 and younger this year and are expected to spend a total of $72.5 billion. Results of the 2013 Back to School Intentions Study from TrendSource show that school supplies are far and away the most popular item, with 95% of back-to-school shoppers buying them.

J.C. Penney filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday that would allow for activist investor Bill Ackman to unload his entire stake in the company via a secondary stock offering.

According to the J.C. Penney’s filing, Ackman and various Pershing Square investment vehicles he controls plan to sell roughly 39 million shares representing 17.7% of the company’s 220.5 million outstanding shares.

In advance of the Walmart-led U.S. Manufacturing Summit held in Orlando, Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon wrote an op-ed piece for the Huffington Post titled, "Reviving U.S. Manufacturing Key to Rebuilding the Middle Class." In it, Simon alludes to the vanishing middle class — which found themselves jobless as products once produced in the U.S.

Beachwood, Ohio — DDR Corp. has announced that a joint venture formed with an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. has closed on the acquisition of a portfolio of seven prime shopping centers totaling 2.4 million sq. ft. The assets are located in supply constrained MSA’s including Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington D.C., Portland, Harrisburg, Pa., and Cincinnati.