Mass Merchant

New York City -- A report released Thursday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs said that 34% of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, up from 31% in 2010 and 26% in 2009.

“In addition to buying gifts, consumers overwhelmingly indicated that they would be looking for bargains on Black Friday for themselves as well,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. reported Thursday that its loss widened in the third quarter on softness in its Canada division and on weaker consumer electronics sales.

The operator of Sears and Kmart recorded a loss of $421 million in the quarter ended Oct. 29, compared with a loss of $218 million a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1% to $9.57 billion from $9.68 billion, missing the $9.63 billion expected by Wall Street, and marking the fourth straight quarter of revenue declines.

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the third quarter rose 22% on higher sales at its Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works chains.

Net income rose to $94.3 million from $61.3 million a year earlier. As reported previously, revenue rose 10% to $2.17 billion.

The company has raised its outlook for the fourth quarter.
 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Winn-Dixie on Wednesday announced it has joined forces with Feeding America to launch the Give a Meal program, which gives Winn-Dixie guests and team members the opportunity to help provide food to nearly 37 million Americans — including more than 14 million children — facing hunger this holiday season. Give a Meal runs through Jan. 3 and is available in all of Winn-Dixie’s 482 stores in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group announced a joint venture with Woodmont Outlets and EWB Development to develop, lease and manage St. Louis Premium Outlets, a new upscale outlet center in Chesterfield, Mo. 

The new outlet center, which was announced in October as Spirit of St. Louis Outlets, will be comprised of 55 acres and will anchor Chesterfield Blue Valley, a mixed-use development to include office space, hotel, restaurant and entertainment venues. 

WASHINGTON — Up to 152 million people plan to shop Black Friday Weekend, compared with the 138 million who planned to do so last year, according to a preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch. According to the survey, 74 million people say they will definitely hit the stores and another 77 million are waiting to see if the bargains are worth the hassle of Black Friday.

NEW YORK — Shoppers today are more knowledgeable than ever when it comes to finding deals on their favorite products, and many won't even set foot in store until they have an idea of their potential savings, according to the Deloitte/Harrison Group annual American Pantry Survey.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax Inc. announced a strategic pilot with RadioShack Corp. whereby OfficeMax will pilot the RadioShack Mobile offering in the San Francisco market beginning in January 2012.

As part of this pilot program, RadioShack employees will offer mobile products and services, including prepaid and postpaid wireless products, accessories and service plans, as well as assist in selling OfficeMax consumer electronics products and services, in approximately 15-20 OfficeMax stores.