Sales & Marketing

New York City -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Houston on Wednesday, charging Bass Pro Outdoor World with alleged racial discrimination in its hiring practices dating back to 2005, the Associated Press reported.

NEW YORK — Teen retailer Aeropostale announced that it is expanded its reach to international consumers. Through a partnership with FiftyOne Global Ecommerce, consumers in more than 90 countries worldwide can now purchase directly from Aeropostale.com.

Seattle -- Nordstorm plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in Manchester, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.
 
The new 35,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2012. Construction of the store will begin immediately, according to Mark Sedgwick, managing director of St. Louis-based Pace Properties, L.L.C., which will develop and own the building where Nordstrom Rack will be located.
 

West Mifflin, Pa. -- Atlanta-based Jones Lang LaSalle announced that it was named as the property and leasing manager for Century III Mall, a 1.2 million-sq.-ft. regional shopping and retail center located in West Mifflin, Pa., near Pittsburgh.

The mall houses more than 100 retail shops, anchored by Macy's, J.C. Penney, Sears and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corp., a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, announced it has signed a new long-term agreement to provide private label and co-branded credit-card services for Marathon Petroleum Corp., Findlay, Ohio.

CHICAGO — In the wake of several surveys projecting how shoppers will spend this holiday season, the latest study from ShopperTrak expects national retail sales to increase 3% during November and December, while foot traffic will drop 2.2%.

ShopperTrak said its 3% holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth, adding that the expected increase is moderate when compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

New York City -- Gap’s Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement program was recognized by former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative, held in New York City. Bob Fisher, son of Gap founders Doris and Don Fisher and a Gap board member, accepted the honor on behalf of the company.

September may seem a bit early to put out a holiday toy list, considering most consumers just finished spending for back-to-school and still have Halloween to think about, but garnering media attention is important. Many retailers who have a hand in toy retailing will put out some sort of toy list, and Walmart is among them. However if it continues the trend of last year, Walmart won't release its list until early November, which is more in line with when consumers begin thinking about holiday shopping.