Mass Merchant

Manville, N.J. -- Purchase, N.Y.-based National Realty & Development Corp. said that Dollar Zone has leased 15,000 sq. ft. and Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies has leased 2,970 sq. ft. at Marketplace at Manville, located in Manville, N.J.

Both retailers are slated to open this spring.

Walmart, A&P Supermarket and Reading Cinema anchor the 275,354-sq.-ft. center, which is now 100% leased.

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW said Monday it has appointed Christopher Lanning as senior VP and general manager of the retailer’s Leased Business Division.

Lanning will be responsible for managing DSW's existing leased business client base and developing new account relationships. DSW currently operates 353 shoe departments in conjunction with leased business partners, which include Steinmart, Gordmans, Filene's Basement and Frugal Fannie's.

Orange, Va. -- Walmart’s next step to open a Supercenter near Wilderness Battlefield in Orange, Va., goes to court Tuesday, as Orange County Circuit Judge Daniel R. Bouton is scheduled to hear arguments on requests for summary judgments from attorneys in the case.

If the trial moves forward, a preservation group and local residents who oppose the store will square off against Walmart and the Orange County officials who approved the Supercenter.

New York City -- Coach reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended Jan. 1 rose a better-than-expected 26% to $303.4 million on strong sales, compared with $240.1 million in the year-ago period.

The company credited a rebound in U.S. luxury spending, as well as soaring holiday sales in China for the strong performance.

Sales leaped 18.7% to $1.26 billion, boosted by a same-store sales increase of 12.6% in North America.

On average, Wall Street expected revenue of $1.21 billion.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Walmart, the presenting sponsor of the America I AM: The African-American Imprint tour, will offer specially-priced tickets at select Walmart stores in the Washington, D.C. area.

Walmart is offering tickets at the lowest available price: $10 for adults and $5 for children, or 17% off standard ticket prices.

America I AM is a four-year touring museum exhibition that celebrates nearly 500 years of African-American contributions to this country.

The challenge of spearheading Target’s entry into Canada will be handled by Tony Fisher. He was named president of Target Canada last week in a brief press release that offered little detail on his background or qualifications to lead the company’s efforts to open between 100 and 150 stores beginning in 2013. Here’s what Target had to say about Fisher.

Online sales soared to new heights this past holiday season even though major retailers had a tough time attracting traffic during December. For example, Target.com during December had 37.3 million unique visitors which sounds like a lot and was enough to earn it the 30th ranking on comScore’s top 50 Web properties report released this week.

Target has never claimed to have the lowest prices, but it might want to rethink that strategy now that it has the benefit of its REDcard loyalty program.

Target plans to launch its new website before the 2011 holiday season as is looking for people to join the Target talent community as it builds a best-in-class multichannel shopping experience. That’s according to the retailer’s website interesting openings are listed along with dozens of testimonials of people who already work for the company.

Beachwood, Ohio -- Developers Diversified Realty Corp. announced a new gift-card partnership with MasterCard Worldwide in Puerto Rico.

The MasterCard program, called the Isla Plus Card, represents an extension of a significant, long-term partnership between the two companies in Puerto Rico. The Isla Plus Card is designed to promote even greater acceptance among merchants and consumers, and provide the flexibility consumers demand in gift-card programs.