Mass Merchant

Berlin, Vt. -- The Berlin Mall, in Berlin, Vt., hosted the grand opening of the state’s first Walmart Supercenter on Wednesday. The location was previously a 65,000+-sq.-ft. Walmart store that added 26,200 sq. ft. and full-line grocery offerings to bring the retailer’s first supercenter to Vermont.  

Santa Clara, Calif. –- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly developing a new centralized approach to how it prioritizes and executes IT projects.    According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart will now consolidate all IT projects into a single portfolio overseen by CIO Karenann Terrell.  

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. on Wednesday fired the first retail salvo of the holiday season, announcing that, for the first time ever, it is offering free shipping on all online purchases—no matter the amount—from Oct. 22 through Dec. 20. The free shipping offer comes early in the holiday shopping timeline, reflecting retailers’ concerns about what is expected to be a highly promotional season.  

Macy’s is committed to giving back this winter through its “Buy 1 & We’ll Give 1” effort. Through October 26, Macy’s will donate one coat, up to 50,000 coats, to Clothe4Souls for every coat purchased in the men’s, women’s, juniors’ and children’s departments in Macy’s stores and on macys.com.

The joy of giving will also be a joy of saving, as Macy’s will offer 30-50% discount on a large selection of men’s, women’s and children’s coats during the campaign.

Mahwah, N.J. -- Michael Rayden, president and CEO of Ascena Retail Group’s tween apparel brands Justice and Brothers, and a member of the Ascena board, is retiring at the end of Jan. 2015. Ascena has tapped Herbert Mines Associates to start a global search for a president and CEO of Justice and Brothers.   

Macy’s is committed to giving back this winter through its “Buy 1 & We’ll Give 1” effort. Through October 26, Macy’s will donate one coat, up to 50,000 coats, to Clothe4Souls for every coat purchased in the men’s, women’s, juniors’ and children’s departments in Macy’s stores and on macys.com.

The joy of giving will also be a joy of saving, as Macy’s will offer 30-50% discount on a large selection of men’s, women’s and children’s coats during the campaign.

Los Angeles --Great American Group has been selected as a stalking horse bidder in the potential liquidation of Alco Stores, which operates 198 general merchandise discount stores in 23 states. Great American is a leading provider of asset disposition and auction solutions, advisory and valuation services, capital investment, and real estate advisory services.

L'Oréal USA has announced plans to acquire multi-cultural beauty brand Carol's Daughter.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Created by Lisa Price in 1993, Carol's Daughter offers a range of products that are available at specialty beauty stores, mass retailers, on HSN, through e-commerce and at Carol's Daughter branded stores in New York City. For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, Carol's Daughter had net sales of $27 million.