Mass Merchant

Chicago -- Retail sales will rise 3% percent during November and December compared to the year-ago period, but foot traffic will decrease 2.2%, according to ShopperTrak.

ShopperTrak's holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth. The expected increase is moderate compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

Short Hills, N.J. -- The Mall at Short Hills, in Short Hills, N.J., is now home to new retailers Omega and Pandora, which opened recently in the regional shopping center. Omega opened a flagship store near Nordstrom on the upper level, and jeweler Pandora opened on the lower level near Macy’s.

New York City -- BJ’s Wholesale Club reduced the size and increased the rate on $2.18 billion of loans backing its buyout by Leonard Green & Partners LLP and CVC Capital Partners, Bloomberg reported.

The retailer cut a first-lien piece by $50 million to $1.075 billion, the report said, citing a source who declined to be identified.
 

NEW YORK — Walmart took the next step in its goal to help build women's economic empowerment by announcing the launch of a dedicated page on Walmart.com that will feature an assortment of products created by women in nearly two dozen countries, including women who work in cooperatives and own small businesses. The site, which the company expects to be available in spring 2012, will feature such products as jewelry from Guatemala, Thailand and Ethiopia; coffee from Central and South America; and dresses from Kenya.

New York City -- Shopping-center sales in November and December are expected to increase 2.2% relative to the same period a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. In 2010, the holiday season posted a 5% gain following two back-to-back declines during the 2007-09 recession.

The organization has forecast that U.S. holiday sales in 2011 will post a moderate 3% gain, down from 2.1% last year.
 

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle announced Tuesday that Rally Capital Services, LLC, and Pacific Avenue, LLC, have chosen the firm to lease and manage their open-air centers.

Rally Capital selected Jones Lang LaSalle Retail to lease and manage Kendall Marketplace, a 750,000-sq.-ft. regional power center in Yorkville, Ind., anchored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, SuperTarget and The Home Depot.

San Diego -- At its first Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM announced a range of wins with clients across global industries. By deploying solutions for Smarter Commerce, these clients are capitalizing on rapid shifts in customer demand, improving their performance and appeal to new digital age consumers, IBM said.

September may seem a bit early to put out a holiday toy list, considering most consumers just finished spending for back-to-school and still have Halloween to think about, but garnering media attention is important. Many retailers who have a hand in toy retailing will put out some sort of toy list, and Walmart is among them. However if it continues the trend of last year, Walmart won't release its list until early November, which is more in line with when consumers begin thinking about holiday shopping.