Mass Merchant

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp extended its $80-a-share tender offer to acquire rival Family Dollar Stores Inc. from Oct. 31, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2014, unless further extended. It is the second time Dollar General has extended its offer.     About 4 million shares, or some 3.6% of Family Dollar's total share capital of about 114 million, had been validly tendered into the offer as of Oct. 30, Dollar General said in a statement.  

Arlington, Texas -- UCR Investment Sales, a division of UCR, announced the sale of Arlington Park Square, a 94,125-sq.-ft. value-add specialty retail center located in Arlington, Texas.   

San Francisco –- Compared to non-users, Twitter users start holiday shopping earlier, spend more and are more prone to impulse purchases. According to a new study conducted by brand research firm DB5 for Twitter, more than a third (34%) of Twitter users have already begun thinking about holiday shopping, and 81% say they love holiday shopping, compared to 56% of non-users.  

Dollar General has extended the deadline for Family Dollar shareholders to approve a buyout deal while it continues to recommend a “no” vote on a competing proposal from Dollar Tree.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart is upping the ante on holiday shopping. The chain announced that, starting Saturday, Nov. 1, it will reduce prices on more than 20,000 items. Walmart is also launching its holiday promotions on the first weekend in November to get a jump on what is expected to be a highly competitive selling season.  

By Craig Johnson, Customer Growth Partners   With a third straight year of dismal retail spending, American consumers will generate only a lackluster 3.4% year-over-year increase in holiday sales, well below the 5% pace in 2010 and 2011, according to Customer Growth Partners’ 14th Annual Holiday Forecast.   

Nashville, Tenn. –- Rent-A-Center has offered to pay for the shipping of the first container of relief supplies as part of the #RetailFightsEbola campaign. RetailFightsEbola is a campaign to combat the spread of Ebola in Liberia launched by Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI).   The campaign is rallying retailers, manufacturers and individuals to provide much needed medical and hygienic supplies to Liberia.  

By John Bible, Oracle