Mass Merchant

Customers at Target are being given expanded opportunities to engage with the retailer this holiday season thanks to extended hours and early access to promotional offers.

London -- Leading British retailer Asda has partnered with ecommerce performance marketing company HookLogic to launch the company’s first venture into the European market.    

New York --  Chinese E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings sold about $2 billion worth of goods on its websites within approximately the first hour of its annual shopping extravaganza.    This is the sixth year Alibaba has celebrated Singles Day, or 11.11 (named after the date, 11/11), a 24-hour deep-discount festival designed to boost sales during an otherwise weak period in China's sales calendar.   

By Nicholas Fortuna & Paula Lopez of Allyn & Fortuna LLP  

New York -- The outlook for the U.S. retail industry in 2015 is stable, according to a new report by Moody’s Investor Service, which forecasts that retail sales will grow 3- to 4% in 2014,  and 4- to 5% in 2015.     The report, Moody’s U.S. Retail Industry Outlook, also finds that traditional brick-and-mortar retailers will be formidable competitors to pure-play online merchants.    

San Francisco –- Gap Inc. reported declining net and same-store sales for the third quarter and October 2014. For the third quarter Gap’s net sales were $3.97 billion, down 2.5% from $3.98 billion for the third quarter the prior year.  

Industrial and construction supplies retailer Fastenal said CEO Willard Oberton planned to resign from the 2,700 store retailer effective December 31.

The company on Friday, Nov. 7 disclosed that  Oberton notified the board of directors the prior Monday of his decision to resign. Plans call for Oberton, 56, to remain as chairman of the company and to be actively involved in strategic planning and performance measurements.