Mass Merchant

New York -- A new report from PwC US and Kantar Retail suggests that the retail industry may be transitioning to a 'post-modern' consumer-centric era triggered by the speed of technological advancements, globalization and hyper-competition, both online and offline.

The Retailing 2020 report recommended that successful retailers will need to transform themselves to grow in an increasingly polarized world of greater channel fragmentation that will result in greater non-store retail growth and smaller retail formats.

New York -- Uniqlo on Friday will open its largest mall store in the world, in Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J. The two-level, 43,000-sq.-ft. store will serve as the prototype for the Japanese retailer¹s U.S. mall expansion.

The new Uniqlo replaces an Old Navy store and has its own separate entrance to the parking lot as well as a traditional mall entrance. A large LCD monitor display at the mall entrance will feature special interactive games and other content to engage shoppers.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General is promising big savings on toys -- right up until Christmas Eve. From Sept. 29 through Dec. 24, the retailer is offering a 10% discount on toy purchases of $75 or more.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- Convenient access to the information that drives purchase decisions is the main reason shoppers go online, according to a new survey conducted by the e-tailing group and sponsored by Oracle. Eighty-one percent of the respondents said that ease of research and comparison shopping were the top reasons they shop online. And increasingly, they are doing it across product categories, including staples. Seventy-five percent research tech purchases online before deciding to buy, and 50% said they do the same for commodity products.

New York -- A U.S. judge in San Francisco has certified a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. that involved allegations of gender discrimination in the store's promotion practices.

“Costco offers numerous competing explanations for the observed gender disparity in promotions,” U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said in the ruling, Bloomberg reported. “None of these explanations undermine the companywide nature of the challenged policies and their disparate effects.”

An intriguing shopper marketing initiative involving Unilever and Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market division was launched today in select markets.

The two companies launched an intriguing program designed to help shoppers save money, drive sales of Unilever brands at Fresh & Easy stores and help the Arbor Day Foundation plant trees.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores announced the grand opening of 12 stores, creating approximately 1,500 jobs nationwide. The company now operates 1,146 stores in 49 states.

The company is celebrating the grand opening of 12 stores in 10 states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Of the 12 new locations, 11 are small format stores with approximately 64,000 sq. ft. or less of retail space.

Each year, since the “big recession,” retailers have been putting out their holiday decorations and starting their promotional sales as early as mid-October. It used to be that Black Friday was the kick-off that got everyone out to the stores in search of that must-have discounted gift for their loved ones. This year, however, the calendar barely hit September and I saw Christmas trees on display at my local Costco and retailers announcing their layaway program incentives.