Retail

Ottawa, Ontario -- The Canadian government is reportedly seeking to boost penalties for retailers caught using “zapper” software that can delete or modify transactional data in electronic POS systems to illegally hide sales.

Plano, Texas -- Legal wrangling about J.C. Penney Co. selling Martha Stewart-branded home goods is reportedly continuing. According to The Motley Fool, a hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 25 to review allegations in the New York Post that J.C. Penney plans to terminate its contract with Martha Stewart Living.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. announced that it has adopted a one-year stockholder rights plan, or a “poison pill,” to discourage an unfriendly takeover.

The company adopted the plan after it became aware that unnamed investors had accumulated “a significant amount” of its stock. The investor turned out to be hedge fund company Jana Partners, which disclosed in a filing that it has accumulated a 6.2% stake in the supermarket retailer.

Aston, Pa. -- Action Services Group, a national lighting, sign and electrical maintenance company, announced a program agreement with Sunoco Inc. to provide sign relamping services, plus location asset-survey services, for their retail high-rise signs across specified locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans for two new Nordstrom Rack stores, one in Nevada, and the other in Massachusetts.

The retailer said it will open a 36,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom Rack in fall 2014 at The Shops at Summerlin, a 1.6 million-sq.-ft. mixed-use center in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin.

Teaneck, N.J. – Physical stores remain critically important to omnichannel commerce. Results of the fourth annual Cognizant Customer Experience Study show that for consumable products, 75% of shoppers still prefer to make an in-store purchase.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th plans to open a new store in Aventura, Fla., on Sept. 20.

The store will be located in Town Center Aventura developed in partnership with Turnberry Media and will be the third Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th location in Miami. The 28,000-sq.-ft. layout includes an open floor plan, moveable fixtures and bright lighting.

Chattanooga, Tenn. — CBL & Associates Properties, Inc has announced that Burlington Coat Factory will locate its first and only store in Chattanooga at Northgate Mall. The new 63,000-sq.-ft store will stand between Sears and J.C. Penney. Shoppers will enter from the mall and from outside from the east parking lot.

Several stores will relocate to accommodate the redevelopment. Plans call for construction to begin in January with the grand opening scheduled for October 2014.