Mass Merchant

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group said Thursday it has appointed Jeff Gerstel as president of Dressbarn, and named George Goldfarb as president of its Maurices brand, both effective immediately.

The new executives will report to David Jaffe, president and CEO of Ascena Retail Group.

Gerstel joined Dressbarn in 2006 as senior VP operations and most recently served as executive VP and COO.

Goldfarb joined Maurices in 1985, was named CFO in 2003, and most recently was its executive VP and COO.

New York City -- Consumers and their smartphones are becoming inseparable when it comes to shopping, according to a survey by Verve Wireless, a mobile advertising company, which found that over 60% of respondents use their smartphone for shopping one or more times each month.

The top three product categories shopped for on smartphones are electronics (51%), entertainment (50%), books (45%), closely followed by clothing (38%) and automotive (21%), the survey revealed.

In other findings:

Goodlettsville, Tenn. — Dollar General on Monday told analysts the company plans to open 40 DG Market concepts in 2012 in both new and existing markets based on the success of the concept.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General announced that it is giving $100,000 to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation to support its efforts to provide toys to underprivileged children.

"Dollar General is proud to support Toys for Tots this holiday season," said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General's chairman and CEO. "Our stores are happy to be a part of Toys for Tots' mission of bringing joy and excitement to children who might not otherwise have a gift to open on Christmas."

By Tom Mullaney, [email protected]

New York City -- The retail sector continues to edge tentatively toward recovery, buoyed by a strong start to the holiday shopping season, but several obstacles stand in the way of sustained progress in 2012, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s North America Year-end Retail Outlook.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer is taking up the latest retail trend to offer home delivery of fresh-cut Christmas trees.

The company began shipping fresh-cut Fraser fir Christmas trees on Thanksgiving Day, and sales have exceeded expectations within the first few days, announced Liwanag Ojala, VP e-commerce for the Grand Rapids, Mich. -based retailer.

Chicago -- Retail rents fell 1.6% year over year, and inched down 0.5% since the last quarter to the current national average of $14.65, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s North America Year-end Retail Outlook. National retail vacancy levels posted a 0.1% quarter-over-quarter drop from 7.1% to 7.0%, with open-air centers at the high end with 10.9% vacancy, and general retail at the low end with 4.7%  vacancy.