Store Systems

Toronto -- Sears Canada said Friday that it is rolling out a new in-store area called new baby department, located in the Kids Room in 55 Sears Canada stores across the country.

The new baby department in the Kids Room is "organized into five categories that are clearly signed: nursery, travel, activity, feeding and gifting," said Tracy Culleton, VP of The Kids Room at Sears Canada. "The signing also provides all the features and benefits of the product assortment."

NEW YORK — JCPenney has asked a New York Federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the visual merchandising firm Hudson + Broad over the Plexiglass LED square frame used in the chain’s new “Fair and Square” branding campaign, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

Armonk, N.Y. -- An IBM "Institute of Business Value" study revealed that self checkout is the preferred way to shop for most consumers today, and more than half said they want to use a mobile device to scan while shopping, and to do final checkout at a self-checkout station. More than 40% want to scan samples and retrieve shopping items for pickup, or have the items delivered directly to their homes.

NEW YORK — William Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, said that J.C. Penney Co. should start to see “real progress” in early 2013. Ackman made his comments in an interview Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Pershing Square owns about 18% of JCPenney.

Indianapolis -- LIDS Sports Group has reached an agreement with the University of Florida to operate and manage the official team stores for the Florida Gators. This includes two primary locations within “The Swamp,” as well as other special event concessions for the University’s baseball, basketball, and gymnastics athletic programs, among others.

PITTSBURGH — Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to open a new format focused on runners later this summer.

The new concept called True Runner will be located on Walnut Street in an affluent area of Pittsburgh known as Shadyside, the company said. Dick’s offered no additional details on the opening date, store size or product assortment, but it is clear from the limited comments made by a company executive that the store will focus on running enthusiasts.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target reported a 4.4% increase in May same-store sales that was toward the upper end of a guidance range that called for a low-to-mid single-digit increase.

New York -- J.C. Penney Co. has asked a New York Federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the visual merchandising firm Hudson + Broad over the Plexiglass LED square frame used in the chain’s new “Fair and Square” branding campaign, Women’s Wear Daily reported.