Store Systems

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus announced Thursday that it had entered into agreements with Visa and MasterCard to begin, effective Nov. 1, accepting MasterCard and Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards at all 41 Neiman Marcus stores.

The luxury retailer had long been criticized for accepting only its private-label credit cards, American Express and cash.

"We listened to our customers and heard that they wanted more flexibility in their payment choices," said Karen Katz, president and CEO, Neiman Marcus.
 

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Same-store sales at Rite Aid increased by 2.9% in October, compared with last October, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

The increase included a 1.3% increase in same-store sales on the front end, as well as a 3.6% increase in pharmacy same-store sales, including a negative offset of about 160 basis points due to the introduction of new generic drugs.

Total sales for the month were nearly $2 billion, a 2.8% increase over October 2010's $1.9 billion.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday that same-store sales increased 2.9% in October, boosted by a 3.6% surge in pharmacy same-store sales. Front-end same-store sales edged up 1.3%.

Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 2.8% to $1.96 billion compared to $1.91 billion for the same period last year.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners said that Dollar Tree/Deal$ has leased four new retail spaces, all in New York.

The company leased 12,000 sq. ft. in Maspeth, N.Y.; 12,000 sq. ft. in Brooklyn; 10,250 sq. ft. in Sunnyside; and 9,341 sq. ft. on Broadway in New York City.
 

Uniqlo’s, the expansion-minded Japanese apparel retailer, has opened open its largest store in the world, an 89,000-sq.-ft., three-level flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Designed by the cutting-edge Japanese firm Wonderwall, the new Uniqlo is sleek and futuristic. It is massive in scale, with 100 fitting rooms, 45 checkouts, 100 LCD and LED screens, four glass elevators and an escalator that takes customers from the entry directly to the third level, which is the main selling floor.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Books-A-Million has announced that it will open 41 new BAM! stores in markets across the U.S. in early November. The company has also closed 21 underperforming locations during its third quarter. 

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack's transition from offering T-Mobile products and services to offering those of Verizon Wireless took a toll on the company's third quarter profits, though overall sales managed to increase.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced it is now offering digital local ads available on its sites searslocalad.com and kmartlocalad.com. The new ads provide customers with prices and offers from their very own local Sears or Kmart stores, real-time stock checks and access to ads 24 hours a day.