Mass Merchant

New York -- Disney unleashed its considerable marketing prowess on Friday and retailers were hoping the company’s “force” would translate into big sales.

On Friday, the entertainment giant formally debuted hundreds of toys and other products related to its upcoming — and hugely anticipated — film, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”  

Leading European apparel retailer Primark is so confident its brand of fast fashion will appeal to American shoppers it has leased a 677,000-sq.-ft. distribution center to support its new stores opening this month.

The first Primark store opens on Sept. 10 in Boston and will be followed by a second opening in November at the King of Prussia mall in Philadelphia. Six additional openings are planned before year end in Burlington and Braintree, Mass., Danbury, Conn., Freehold, N.J., Willow Grove, Pa. and Staten Island.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc.’s sales slump continued in August across all its brands with one notable exception. The retailer said that it wasn’t helped by a late Labor Day, with the holiday falling in September this year, as opposed to August last year.

Gap's global same-store sales fell 8%, compared to a 6% decrease for the year prior, while Banana Republic had a 11% drop compared to 6% last year. Old Navy continued its winning streak, with a same-store sales rose 6% on top of a 2% increase for the prior year.

Austin, Texas – Labor Day is supposed to be a day of rest, but consumers are planning to work at shopping for the upcoming Labor Day holiday Sept. 7.

According to a recent RetailMeNot-Kelton survey, two in three (67%) people planning to spend money this Labor Day will spend an average of $144.

In addition, 13% anticipate their Labor Day spend will exceed $200. While 67% of consumers do actually plan to relax at home, one in three intend to visit the mall.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Sam's Club is taking on Costco in the auto buying program business by teaming up with one of the biggest names in car-shopping.

The all-new Sam's Club Auto Buying Program will now be powered by TrueCar, Sam's Club announced Thursday. Sams Club says members will have access to more than 10,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers nationwide, more than three times the nearest competitor in the warehouse club channel (i.e., Costco).

The CEO of Genesco Inc. says the company had strong sales despite the later start to the back-to-school season and some pressures to right-size inventories.

Target Corp. has a new finance chief and executive VP. Cathy Smith officially joined the discounter on Sept. 1, coming from Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager, where she was also CFO.  

A seasoned retail leader, Smith also held CFO positions at Walmart International, GameStop, and others. Target recently posted a Q&A with Smith on its Bullseye blog. Here are some highlights:

What made you decide to take on this role at Target?

New York -- Amazon is not only expanding its instant-order “Dash” button program, it’s also making the buttons virtually free.