Retail

Seattle – Nordstrom will open a Nordstrom Rack at Village Plaza at Bunker Hill in Houston. The 30,357-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2014.

The first Houston Rack store opened at The Centre at Post Oak in 2010, and the Bunker Hill Rack will be the third Rack in four years to open in the area. Nordstrom first came to Houston with a full-line store at The Galleria in 2003. The company will open its second Houston full-line store at The Woodlands Mall on September 5, 2014.

New York -- Dollar Tree and Dressbarn have named Charter Realty and Development as the exclusive broker in Connecticut.

Dollar Tree, a Fortune 500 company with approximately 4,700 stores looks for 8,000- to 12,000-sq.-ft. spaces. Dollar Tree is also looking for locations in freestanding strip malls and power centers.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney posted a bigger-than-expected loss for its third quarter. But the struggling retailer pointed to hopeful signs that its business is starting to stabilize as its heads into the holiday season.

Penney reported a loss of $489 million in the three months ended Nov.2, compared with a loss of $123 million in the year ago period.

Sales fell 5.1% to $2.78 billion. Same-store sales were down 4.8%, but the period ended with its first monthly gain since December 2011. And online sales rose 24.5%, to $266 million.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. is rolling out its “Reserve in Store” capabilities to all U.S. Banana Republic stores and more than 200 Gap stores in 15 major U.S. markets. The launch, which follows a successful pilot in San Francisco and Chicago-area Gap and Banana Republic stores, makes it easy for customers to shop online or with their mobile device, place items on hold and pick them up in local stores.

Dallas — Jared, The Galleria of Jewelry, has signed leases for new locations in Lubbock, Corpus Christi and Midland, Texas, according to Venture Commercial Real Estate, which represented Jared in the transactions. All locations are under construction and expected to open soon.

Los Angeles -- Women are more responsive to mobile alerts detailing discounts and more likely than men to shop in-store to save on shipping costs, according to recent data from fashion shopping app Snapette, a business unit of PriceGrabber. The survey revealed that mobile ad spend grew by 81% this year, with women aged 25-34 driving the highest click through and conversation rates.

Fairway Market has launched a new mobile app designed to provide an enriched experience for its shoppers who love to cook. It is available on the iPhone App Store, and can be downloaded in any Fairway location since the stores all offer free Wi-Fi.

App users can create individual food profiles by choosing dietary preferences, and then explore beautifully photographed products along with step-by-step gourmet recipes curated by Fairway experts.

When the new Nordstrom Rack opened at Mercato in Naples, Fla., in early November, 500 people somehow got into the store within the first five minutes. No kidding.

Nordstrom Rack replaced Books-A-Million in a 30,000 sq. ft. space in the center, joining several other new tenants including The Wine Loft, The Counter, MASA, Kelly Chase Couture and Mark Loren Designs, Le Macaron, Salon Zen AVEDA, Second Cup and TAPS Bar & Lounge.