Mass Merchant

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New York City -- Robert K. Futterman & Associates said it has arranged a 14,564-sq.-ft. lease for Anthropologie at 1230 Third Ave. for its first Upper East Side location.

Set to open this holiday season, the retailer will consist of 5,051 sq. ft. on the ground-floor and 9,513 sq. ft. of lower-level retail space. 

This will be Anthropologie’s fifth location in Manhattan. 

New York City -- Wal-Mart will debut its Walmart Express format on June 8, in Gentry, Ark. The 15,000-sq-.ft.-store will sell many of the product categories that a traditional Walmart carries, from general merchandise to consumables. There is also a pharmacy. But it will have from 11,000 to 13,000 items, compared with the more than 100,000 items found in a typical supercenter.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores on Friday morning kicked off its annual shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., by announcing a $15 billion stock buyback.

Among the early speakers was Doug McMillon, chief of Wal-Mart Stores' international division, who told the audience that the chain is building sales around the world by using the same retailing style that company founder Sam Walton developed.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. and WESTBOROUGH, Mass.  — Costco Wholesale and BJ’s Wholesale reported strong sales growth and produced impressive comps even without the benefit of fuel sales.

Costco reported that net sales for the month of May increased 17% to $7.14 billion from $6.09 billion last year. This year’s May results period included sales from the company's Mexico joint venture. If these sales are excluded, Costco’s net sales increase would have been 14%.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples has announced new appointments at its European division. Amee Chande has been named managing director U.K. retail and direct and Andrew Gabriel has been named director technology and services European retail.

Chande will have overall responsibility for Staples retail and delivery businesses in the United Kingdom, a key market for the company. Chande joined Staples in 2009 as SVP strategy, responsible for developing and driving the company’s growth agenda.

NEW YORK — Macy's has announced a number of initiatives in support of LGBT pride month this June. 

Macy's "Pride and Joy" campaign will feature a multitude of in-store fashion events, commemorative advertising and window displays, pride merchandise in select stores, gift registry booths for couples in key cities, celebrity appearances, as well as sponsorship and employee participation in pride parades across the country.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target reported a 2.8% same-store sales increase for May, falling short of Wall Street's expectation for a 3.5% increase, as consumers remained cautious. The retailer reported that net sales for the four-week period were $4.8 billion, an increase of 3.8%t from $4.6 billion for the four weeks ended May 29, 2010. 

 NEW YORK  — A sluggish economy, cool weather and high prices at the pump tempered retail sales in May, as retailers reported mixed results for the month. Retail Metrics projected an increase of 5.1% for the 25 chains tracked, which would mark the 21st straight monthly gain from September 2009.

Retailers who turned in strong performances in May included Macy’s, with a 7.4% rise in same-store sales when a 5.6% increase was expected. The company lifted its full-year same-stores sales estimate.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings announced that it has reached a license agreement with Dorcy International, which will allow Dorcy to sell DieHard-branded alkaline/rechargeable batteries and flashlights to retailers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.