Store Systems

Chicago -- Telecommunications giant AT&T is setting up shop on Chicago's Magnificant Mile, opening a flagship on Sept. 1. The 10,000-sq.-ft. store, at 600 N. Michigan Ave., is designed to showcase what consumers can do with AT&T's products and to educate them about future wireless technologies and services.

A 4.2% increase in August same-store sales at Target was at the high end of the company’s forecast range.

The solid showing during August was noteworthy because it came on top of a prior year increase of 4.1% and was attributable primarily to an increase in average transaction size. According to Target, about three fourths of the increase was due to growth in ticket with increase shopper traffic accounting for the remainder of the comp increase.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — The first of 39 former Zellers stores Walmart bought from Target in Canada celebrated its grand opening as a Walmart store earlier this month.

According to Walmart Canada, the 69,000 sq. ft. store located in Newmarket, Ontario, will feature easy-to-navigate aisles with directional signage, and a bright interior color palette to define the store's merchandise areas along with lower shelving to improve sightlines. The store will also conain a pharmacy.

SIDNEY, Neb. -- Cabela's Inc. said that it plans to build a 50,000-sq.-ft. store in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It will be the anchor tenant in the new Grasslands Shopping Centre being developed in Regina.

The new store, which will be the retailer's fourth location in Canada, is expected to in fall 2013 or spring 2014. The company will open a store in Rogers, Ark., on Aug. 30, and Union Gap, Wash., on Oct. 4.

Dallas  -- J.C. Penney Co.  has unveiled details of its three newest brand shops.
 
The shop will debut September 1, in nearly 700 stores nationwide. , They feature dedicated in-store environments for Liz Claiborne, Izod, and  a new private-label line of fashion basics line called jcp.

For a video tour, click here.
 

Ron Johnson, CEO of J.C. Penney Co., gives a sneak preview of the company’s latest wave of brand shops, which will open in nearly 700 Penney stores nationwide on Sept 1. The new shops are dedicated to three brands: Liz Claiborne, IZOD and jcp – a new exclusive brand dedicated to high-quality fashion basics.

Click here for a video tour of the new shops.

New York -- Self-checkout technology continues to rise in importance at retailers in North America, according to a new study  by IHL Group.
 
The 2012 North American Kiosk Study finds that self-checkout shipments are increasing 8% year to year, with self-checkout transactions exceeding $255 billion annually in North America. Kooking Transactions are growing better than 7% per year in North America, and expected to grow past $1.0 trillion by 2014.
 

San Francisco -- Premier Retail Networks LLC and Digital Display Networks Inc., creator and operator of 7-Eleven TV, announced a multi-year agreement under which PRN will be the exclusive advertising representative for 7-Eleven® TV. The agreement is effective immediately.
 
Under the new agreement, PRN will offer brands the opportunity to reach 100 million viewers monthly on 7-Eleven TV, America's largest single chain digital out-of-home network installed in approximately 4,400 locations.