Sales & Marketing

NEW YORK — Kohl’s Department Stores has opened eight new stores, bringing approximately 1,000 new jobs nationwide. The company now operates 1,134 stores in 49 states.

The new stores are located in seven states, including Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Of the eight locations, seven are small format stores with approximately 64,000 sq. ft. or less of retail space, providing greater real estate flexibility.

Sacramento, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened its first two stores in the Sacramento region.

Three additional locations are scheduled to open next week on March 14.

In total, Fresh & Easy will open five stores in the region this month, creating more than 150 new jobs.
 

The most exciting news coming to Target stores this year isn’t some new designer exclusive or enhancement to REDcard Rewards, but rather a return to operational normalcy as the PFresh remodeling program winds down. This phenomenon won’t generate the same publicity as a Jason Wu pop-up store, but the impact on shoppers and sales promises to be greater.

Houston -- The Men's Wearhouse reported a net loss of $3.8 million for the quarter that ended Jan. 28, compared with a net loss of $14.1 million a year earlier, as it cut costs and increased prices.

The results beat forecasts, and the company said it expects 2012 income to be higher than expectations.

Revenue was $562.2 million, up from $542.1 million.

Staten Island, N.Y. -- Celerant Technology has acquired CAM Commerce Solutions, a subsidiary of Robertson Piper Software Group (RPSG) and a well-known East Coast-based retail software provider. CAM provides services for small to mid-size retailers across a variety of vertical markets.

New York -- Washington state opened a public auction online Thursday of its state-run liquor stores, beginning the process of privatizing an industry the state has tightly controlled since the end of Prohibition, the Associated Press reported.

The minimum bid is $1,000, and within hours, more than 30 bidders had entered the fray, the report said. Some were looking to buy rights to all of the stores, while the majority bid on individual store locations.

Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke frequently asserts no other global retailer is better positioned than Walmart, and it is easy to see why he holds that view especially when compared with the situation at the world’s second largest retailer.

New York -- Belgian supermarket operator Delhaize Group said that its fourth quarter net profit dropped 48%, hurt by impairments resulting from its restructuring. It also announced that Mats Jansson will be the new chairman of the board, and that Pierre Bouchut will succeed Stefan Descheemaeker as CFO, effective March 19.

The company, whose U.S. holdings include the Food Lion, Hannaford Bros. and Sweetbay banners, said it will accelerate the revamp of its stores in the United States and Belgium to increase its competitiveness.