Mass Merchant

With consumers’ “I want it now” mentality, today’s retailers seem to be investing in ways to get products to customers faster. Retailers are scrambling to get their products to customers with overnight, same-day, four-hour, one-hour and other delivery options. Such offers help on two fronts: they satisfy the needy customer and give the perception that one retailer is offering more options than others to differentiate the brand.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., opened its newest Arizona store on June 27 – a 22,000-sq.-ft. unit in North Tucson.

The newest store is located in the Oracle Gateway off of North Oracle Road and Pastime Road, 3.7 miles north of downtown Tucson, and it brings the total number of stores in the Tucson area to four.
 

German grocer Lidl has made its entry into the U.S. market official by selecting a regional headquarters and distribution hub in the South.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., opened a new store in Lafayette, Louisiana, on June 27.  

The 21,000-sq.-ft. store is located in the Karam Shopping Center, a 100,238-sq.-ft. site at Evangeline Throughway and Willow Street.  
 

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open two new stores in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area on July 18.  The stores are located in the Wake Forest Crossing in Wake Forest, 15 miles northeast of downtown Raleigh, and the Shops at Cameron in Sanford, 50 miles southwest of Raleigh.  

These openings are part of the retailer’s 2015 expansion program, totaling approximately 70 new locations during the year.  
 

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open new stores in Corbin, Kentucky, and in Middletown, Kentucky, both on July 18.  

The 22,000-sq.-ft. Corbin store is located in the Trademart Shopping Center at Highway 25 and Master Street.

The 25,000-sq.-ft. Middletown store is located in Middletown Commons at Interstate 265 and Shelbyville Road, 14 miles east of Louisville.  

Both are part of the retailer’s 2015 expansion program, totaling approximately 70 new locations during the year.  

Having passed the calendar’s mid-point, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the top 10 most-viewed stories of the year (to date) on Chainstoreage.com.

Sears Canada Inc. is looking for its fourth CEO in a little over two years as the company seeks to return to profitability.

Sears said Ronald D. Boire will be departing from his position as president and CEO of the company at the end of the summer to pursue an opportunity in the United States. On the same day, Barnes & Noble announced that opportunity is CEO of that company's retail business.

Sears Canada said that Brandon G. Stranzl, chairman of the board of the corporation, has been named executive chairman effective immediately.