Mass Merchant

Well, the holidays are finally over and the verdict is in: Retailers reported a 3.5% year-over-year sales increase in December — that’s better than I thought we would see — and a 3.3% increase overall for the season. While slightly more than some analysts anticipated (myself included!), it wasn’t the happiest holiday for everyone. Certain sectors (electronics) and brands (Macy’s, Nordstrom) did better than expected, while others (Target and J.C. Penney) did worse.

Following a wild ride during Black Friday, the last month of the year in 2011 saw most retailers maintaining similar levels of promotional activities when compared to 2010. The majority of advertisers either saw slight increases in circular and page counts or stayed flat. When looking at both page counts and circular drops overall there was not much change, with a 2% decrease in number of pages and a 1% drop in number of inserts per market. 

Smart move by Target to open its first wave of Canadian stores in Ontario, as the province accounts for roughly one third of the nation’s 36 million residents and is home to Target Canada headquarters and distribution facilities.

Toms River, N.J. -- Fameco Real Estate said it has signed a lease with Tardi’s Ristorante at Bellcrest Plaza, located in Toms River, N.J.

Owned by H. Hovnanian Industries, Bellcrest Shopping Plaza is a 106,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center formerly anchored by Foodtown but still home to Planet Fitness, Burger King and Provident Bank.
 

Target may have floundered a bit in December, but many retailers reported solid sales gains for the month. Overall, retail sales rose 3.4% at the 22 retailers tracked by the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index, compared with the 3.3% analyst forecast, however results were mixed.

That was the case with the nation’s discounters and department store retailers, with many chains citing unseasonably warm weather that sapped demand for cold-weather merchandise.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it is helping customers prepare for tax season by offering low-cost tax preparation preparation services and free in-store federal Form 1040EZ filing. In addition, the retailer provides $3 and $6 check-cashing services. 

Minneapolis -- Christopher & Banks Corp. announced that its board of directors approved a change in the company’s fiscal year-end to the Saturday nearest to the end of January, rather than the Saturday nearest to the end of February.

The retailer said the change, which is effective for the company’s current fiscal year, will provide certain benefits, including aligning its reporting periods to be more consistent with that of other specialty retail companies.
 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart is expanding the services it offers at tax time to include free in-store federal Form 1040EZ filing.

The chain has partnered with Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block to double its in-store tax kiosks and lower the cost for tax preparation services. Jackson Hewitt will offer free federal Form 1040EZ filing at its Walmart kiosks throughout the tax season, and H&R Block will offer a free federal Form 1040EZ until Feb. 29.