Mass Merchant

Duluth, Minn. – Specialty young women’s apparel store Maurices plans to open 15 new stores, including seven grand openings and eight reopenings, through the middle of July. The new stores include:

Grand Openings:
June 27: Lufkin, Texas at Lufkin Mall and Greensburg, Indiana, at Greensburg Crossing.
July 4: Aurora, Colorado, at The Gardens on Havana.
July 5: Hoffman Estates, Illinois, at Poplar Creek Crossing.

More than a dozen of Walmart’s top merchants are in new roles following a realignment of responsibilities that chief merchandising and marketing officer Duncan Mac Naughton said is designed to recognize customers’ needs and serve them more efficiently.
 

New York -- Dov Charney, the ousted chairman and CEO of American Apparel Inc., is fighting back against his dismissal.

New York -- Annie Young-Scrivner, executive VP of Starbucks Coffee Company and president of its Teavana business, has joined Macy's board of directors.

Former Delhaize CEO Dirk Van den Berghe was named president and CEO of Walmart Canada as the retailer eyes long-term growth opportunities including the development of small stores.

If the retail industry needed a catalyst for change, one that nearly mandates more efficient and sustainable packaging practices, FedEx recently provided the blowtorch to ignite it.

Philadelphia — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has completed the previously announced sale of South Mall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for $23.6 million. Net of closing costs, settlement pro-rations and credits, proceeds from the transaction totaled approximately $23.1 million.

In addition, PREIT has entered into an Agreement of Sale to dispose of its two remaining non-core malls — Nittany Mall and North Hanover Mall.

Minneapolis - Nearly all online orders of $50 or more at Target will now qualify for free shipping. The new policy, which takes effect June 23, makes tens of thousands more products eligible for free shipping.

Only oversize and heavy items will be excluded and subject to a handling fee. Target now matches Wal-Mart’s online free shipping offer but still has a higher threshold than the $35 free shipping offer from Amazon.com. Participants in Target’s Red Card loyalty program, which is free to join, always get free online shipping.