Mass Merchant

New York City -- The Maine House on Wednesday voted to effectively repeal the Informed Growth Act, a law that was enacted four years ago to protect Maine's downtown business districts from big-box stores, The Portland Press Herald reported.

The vote, while a preliminary one, followed an impassioned debate about the character of Maine's traditional downtowns and whether Wal-Mart and other large national chains have hurt local businesses or have helped them by attracting more people to communities, the report said.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores said that by the end of the year it will have invested the equivalent of approximately $756 million to expand its operations in Brazil.

Marcos Samaha, president of Wal-Mart's Brazilian subsidiary, said in a Tuesday statement that 1.2 billion reals ($755 million) will be used to build 80 stores, renovate existing locations and improve logistics.

The consulting firm Gravitytank named Bob Thacker as a strategic advisor to help the firm’s consumer electronics, retail, consumer packaged goods and technology clients. Thacker most recently served as SVP of marketing and advertising at OfficeMax and was with Target from 1989 to 1998 as a VP of marketing. He also served as president and CEO of BBDO in Minneapolis and served as an SVP of marketing at Sears.

New York City -- Retailers from around the world have until May 20 to enter the annual global competition, the Oracle World Retail Awards. Online entry is open at worldretailcongress.com.

The awards, designed to recognize the outstanding innovation and creativity delivered by l retailers worldwide, are presented each year at a gala event during the World Retail Congress. This year’s presentation will be held Sept. 27 in Berlin.

The winners in 2010 were as follows:

New York City -- SuperValu plans to increase the footprint of its value division Save-A-Lot by 160 new stores this year, GlobeSt.com reported.

“This past year we added 92 net Save-A-Lot stores, and this fiscal year we’re looking to add another 160 net stores,” a spokesman said, according to the report.

MINNEAPOLIS --Target announced that it has donated $200,000 in cash to the American Red Cross to support tornado relief efforts in the Southern United States. An additional donation of more than $75,000 will include product and relief kits containing hygiene and food items that will be distributed to hardest-hit areas.

PLANO, Texas -- JCPenney has completed a new five-year $1.25 billion bank credit facility.

The new facility replaces a $750 million credit facility that was scheduled to mature in April 2012 and provides further strength to the company's liquidity position. The facility may be used for general corporate purposes and will mature in April 2016.

The 5% REDcard Rewards program Target launched last fall has contributed to sales results and served as a game changer on the pricing front with Walmart. Savvy shoppers are increasingly realizing the additional 5% savings they receive by using their REDcard can result in the price of a basket of food and consumables at Target slipping below the price of a comparable basket at Walmart.

Target is the newest member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill organization. The decision to join the group comes as Target has been expanding the frozen and refrigerated capacity in its stores at a breakneck pace as part of the PFresh remodeling program. Greenchill is an EPA partnership with food retailers to help them reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change.

Target was among the major U.S. companies who were quick to step up after the wave of tornadoes brought unprecedented death and destruction to communities throughout the Southeast. Target donated $200,000 in cash to the American Red Cross to support tornado relief efforts and made an additional donation valued at more than $75,000 that included product and relief kits, which contained hygiene and food items for distribution in the hardest-hit areas.