Mass Merchant

The wheels of justice turn slowly. So slowly in fact that just last week a former adviser to President George W. Bush was stripped of his license to practice law in Washington, D.C. for one year in connection with a fraudulent return scheme perpetuated at Target and other retailers in early 2006.

HOUSTON — Stage Stores has announced that Mike Searles has joined the company as president and COO of its South Hill division, which is headquartered in South Hill, Va. Searles, who will report to Rich Maloney, EVP and chief merchandising officer, will be responsible for all operations of the South Hill division, including merchandising, planning and allocation, and store operations.

Northbrook, Ill. -- Oakbrook, Ill.-based Mid-America Asset Management said that Saks has signed a lease for 25,900 sq. ft. at Village Square of Northbrook in Northbrook, Ill., to open its third Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th store in Chicagoland.

The store, which will unveil a new design, is slated to open in November.

Mid-America is the exclusive leasing representative for the 334,995-sq.-ft. shopping center located on Chicago’s North Shore.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target announced that it has donated $60,000 to assist with Texas wildfire relief efforts. A $25,000 cash donation was made to the American Red Cross with the additional cash and product donations made to other nonprofit organizations in the Texas area.

Target teams provided 12,000 bottles of water, 3,600 bottles of Gatorade, and 500 boxes of snacks to Bastrop Public Works yard last week, along with donations of clothes, diapers, toiletries and bedding to support wildfire relief efforts, the company reported.

Houston -- Stage Stores announced that Mike Searles has joined the company as president and COO of its South Hill Division, which is headquartered in South Hill, Va.

Searles will be responsible for all operations of the South Hill Division, including merchandising, planning and allocation, and store operations. He has served as chairman and CEO of Wilsons Leather Stores, and Factory 2-U Stores, in addition to holding senior executive level positions at several other national retail chains.

Fashion newness is all around this fall with interesting merchandising initiatives pitting designers, celebrities and retailers against one another to determine which approach will resonate strongest with consumers.

Some priceless publicity to cement Target’s image as the cool place to shop came courtesy of The New York Times this week. The newspaper reported on and featured a video on its website of the retailer’s back-to-college efforts, which included chartering busses to ferry thousands of kids to its stores at 66 campuses nationwide.

New York City -- Winick Realty Group said that TJ Maxx has leased its first Wall Street location, in the heart of New York City’s Financial District.

The 32,000-sq.-ft. store, which spans two lower levels at 14 Wall Street on the corner of Broad Street, is slated to open in October.