Mass Merchant

Apparel giant in store closing move amid sales drop
Ascena Retail Group, operators of such brands as Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and Dressbarn, is planning to close hundreds of stores. The news came on the heels of a brutal third quarter. The company reported a net loss of $1.031 billion, or $5.29 per diluted share in the third quarter ended April 29, compared to net income of $15 million last year, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Analyst: Across the board adoption of Amazon Prime not imminent
Approximately 80% of low-income households will not opt for Amazon's new discounted Prime program. That's according to a broadlines and hardlines retail report by Gordon Haskett Research Advisors analyst Chuck Grom, which looks at Amazon, Walmart, Dollar General and Dollar Tree as Amazon announced discounted Prime membership for those on federal assistance. Here are excerpts from Grom's report:

Nordstrom may go private

One of the nation's most successful department store retailers may remove itself from the scrutiny and pressure of Wall Street.
Study: The most popular store credit card is...

A retailer that does nearly all of its transactions online has the most popular store credit card. Amazon wins the store card battle, ranking as the top choice among consumers with store cards (32%), followed closely by Target (30%) and then Macy’s (24%).
Warehouse club operator entering new territory

BJ's Wholesale Club is set to open its first location in South Carolina. The retailer will celebrate the grand opening of its new location in Summerville, South Carolina on Saturday, June 10. The store, which marks BJ's expansion into South Carolina, is located at the intersection of Interstate 26 and North Main Street, Summerville's primary retail corridor.
Making the move from the regional mall to the urban lifestyle center
More store closings in the works at Sears

As Sears Holdings continues to struggle, the chain has once again updated is restructuring plan. The embattled retailer has added 72 more stores to its list of upcoming closures. This is in addition to more than 180 closings that it already an-nounced, according to Business Insider.
Harris: Retailers take top spots in social responsibility poll

Consumers rank Wegmans, Publix Super Markets, and Amazon.com as the top three companies when it comes to corporate social responsibility efforts.
The top emerging global retail markets are....

India tops an annual list of the 30 top developing countries for retail investment, pushing China, which took the No. 1 spot for the past several years, into second place.
Sears makes amends with top supplier

The public feud between Eddie Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears, and a top supplier seems to have been resolved. In his May 15 blog, Lampert took aim at some of the chain’s vendors in a blog post. It read:

Apparel giant in store closing move amid sales drop

Analyst: Across the board adoption of Amazon Prime not imminent

Nordstrom may go private

Study: The most popular store credit card is...

Warehouse club operator entering new territory

Making the move from the regional mall to the urban lifestyle center

More store closings in the works at Sears

Harris: Retailers take top spots in social responsibility poll

The top emerging global retail markets are....

Sears makes amends with top supplier