Retail

FORT WORTH, Texas — Leading global workwear maker Dickies has announced plans to expand its occupational wear division’s product offerings as well as their geographical availability.

Beginning this month, Dickies will have head-to-toe uniform apparel for men, women and juniors in the food service, hospitality and healthcare industries. Dickies' occupational wear division, which   provides uniform apparel for customers in the United States, will now provide them for customers across Canada. 

New York -- Jerry McDougal, retail VP for Apple Inc., will be leaving the company, according to a Wednesday report by Bloomberg.

He will be replaced by Jim Bean, a VP in Apple’s finance division.

Company spokesman Steve Dowling told Bloomberg that Bean will be an apt replacement for McDougal, who served under former CEO Ron Johnson for many years.

South Plainfield, N.J. -- National Retail & Development Corp. announced Tuesday that Dick’s Sporting Goods will anchor Hadley Center in South Plainfield, N.J., joining current anchors Target, Kohl’s, Regal Cinemas and Marshalls.
 
Dick’s will occupy 50,175 sq. ft. and plans to open in late summer 2013, which brings Hadley Center to 100% leased.

The 542,000-sq.-ft. Hadley Center is located in a 1.4 million-sq.-ft. mixed-use development, home to more than 120 companies.

New York -- Winick Realty Group said that women’s formal wear brand Social Apparel, with locations in four New York malls, has leased its first freestanding location at 255 West 34th Street, located between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Manhattan’s Garment District.

The store includes 1,760 sq. ft. on the ground floor, 1,276 sq. ft. on the mezzanine and 1,540 sq. ft. in the basement.
 

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples has promoted SVP of business services John Burke to SVP, chief culture officer, a newly created role.

Burke will be charged with leading global efforts focused on building Staples’ culture and for driving improved associate engagement. He will champion Staples’ approach to ethics, environmental sustainability, community relations and diversity and inclusion. Burke will also serve as president of the Staples Foundation, the company’s nonprofit philanthropic organization.

Wayne, N.J. -- The Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund announced it has made a $1 million donation to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, created by New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie and First Lady Mary Pat Christie to aid, comfort and rebuild the Garden State in the wake of the devastation that impacted so many children and families.
 

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — According to global information company the NPD Group, consumers rewarded the U.S. retail toy industry with a strong December.

Based on data from the NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service, many shoppers waited until the last two weeks of December to do their holiday toy shopping. Looking at those two weeks, dollar sales were up 18%and unit sales were up 10% when compared to the same time period in 2011.  

New York -- Walmart will open a mini-store on the campus of Georgia Tech, according to a report by the Atlanta-Constitution.

The 2,500-sq.-ft. convenience-store styled location, expected to open this spring, will be the retailer’s smallest unit in the country.

The Georgia Tech store will be Walmart’s second campus location. In 2011, the retailer opened a store on the campus of the University of Arkansas.