Mass Merchant

Toronto -- One of the nation’s most venerable department store brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, has given a big boost to the retail revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Saks’ parent Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners to open two stores in downtown Manhattan: a 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place (formerly called the World Financial Center), and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza.

According to Deloitte’s annual retail holiday sales forecast, steadily improving economic fundamentals should moderately boost holiday sales in stores and online this year.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Northern California on Oct. 11. The store is located in Rocklin Commons in Rocklin, a suburb in the Sacramento area.  

This new opening is part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year. Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

New York - L.L. Bean provided the best overall customer service in August 2014. This marked the retailer’s fourth time topping Stella Benchmarks in customer service during 2014.

The retailer repeated its top performance from the previous month by ranking among the Top 25 in phone, email, shipping and returns. Nine companies that did not rank in the Top 25 overall for July earned a spot in August: Gap, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Motosport, Microsoft, Brooks Brothers and Wayfair.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Arizona on Oct. 11. The store is located in the Maryvale Plaza Shopping Center in Phoenix. This new opening is part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year. 

Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate more than 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.
 

Sequential Brands Group has selected actress Paula Patton as the new face and brand ambassador for Ellen Tracy.

Patton's role as brand ambassador begins this November when she will spearhead a global initiative to commemorate women's contributions during the last 65 years. The partnership coincides with seasonal collections and campaigns and extends throughout 2015.

Dublin, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores Inc. will open its first store in Louisiana on Sept. 27. The store is located in the Westside South Shopping Center in Gretna.

Including this new location, DD’s Discounts will operate approximately 150 locations in 14 states and is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014.

Stamford, Conn. -- Half of Americans (49%) plan to shop online earlier for gifts this holiday season, with the main reason being to ensure they receive their packages on time (63%), according to a survey by Pitney Bowes.