Mass Merchant

The departure last week of Target chief marketing officer and spearhead of the retailer’s entry into Canada, Michael Francis, was a significant development in the retail world, but someone forgot to tell the company’s suppliers.

New York City -- Bloomingdale’s 520,000-sq.-ft. Manhattan flagship is undergoing a 100,000-sq.-ft. renovation, Women’s Wear Daily reported, with bridge, contemporary, home, shoes, fine jewelry and parts of the designer floor included in the remodel.

The project is estimated to cost $50 million, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
 

Americans spent lots of money on apparel in September, and Target was among the beneficiaries, reporting that the category’s performance exceeded the total company same-store sales increase of 5.3%. Target didn’t elaborate on any key merchandising initiatives that may have influenced the results, such as the launch of the Missoni collection, but it was hardly alone in reporting strong apparel sales.

Elizabethtown, Ky. -- Brixmor Property Group announced a 1,200-sq.-ft. lease has been executed with Edible Arrangements at Kmart Plaza, located in Elizabethtown, Ky.

New York City-based Brixmor is the owner of Kmart Plaza.

It is still very early in the holiday season and anything could happen from a pricing perspective. However, with that as a caveat, it appears Target and Walmart are in a virtual dead heat when it comes to toy pricing, according to a survey by Citigroup’s senior retail analyst Deb Weinswig.

On March 22, 2011, Canadian retailer tb!s The Bargain Shop named top American retail executive Beryl “Jack” Buley as its new president and CEO.  A week later, on March 29, I sat down with Buley to discuss his new position for our then-upcoming June/July issue.  Eight weeks later, he was dead.

NEW YORK — An overwhelming majority (72%) of U.S. consumers expect their holiday spending to be “careful” or “controlled” in 2011, according to Accenture’s annual consumer holiday shopping study. Discounts, sales and prices are still top of mind this holiday, with 40% of consumers saying an item being on sale is the single most important factor in their decision to purchase.

NEW YORK — Supermarket chain Stop & Shop will work with Foodshare to sponsor events at its stores in Hartford, Conn., to help qualifying residents access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit.

About 70% of Connecticut residents who qualify for SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, actually receive the benefit, Stop & Shop said. This is because of such issues as language barriers, lack of transportation or lack of knowledge of the program.