Store Systems

Los Angeles -- Ralphs Grocery Co. has pleaded no contest to overcharging customers for prepackaged and weighed products at stores in Los Angeles, according to a Thursday report by the Associated Press.

The grocery chain entered pleas before the case was scheduled to go to trial. The no contest plea was entered for 62 misdemeanor charges, including false advertising, mislabeling and selling items that weigh less than they should.

A sentencing date will be set Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target said that although its comparable-store sales were below expectations in the South and Northeast, the company believes overall sales will be driven by two of its recent initiatives.

Target chairman, president and CEO, Gregg Steinhafel, said that while the company "expects the economy to remain challenging, Target's PFresh remodel program and REDcard Rewards 5% savings program continue to operate in line with expectations."

NEW YORK --Dillard’s was the clear winner in the department store category in January, posting a same-store sales increase of 6%, which edged results from both Macy’s and Saks.

JCPenney was the big disappointment, as same-store sales dropped an unexpected 1.2%. A survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters produced a consensus estimate of same-store sales up 1.8%.

The retailer said January sales were impacted by lower levels of clearance inventory as well as by adverse weather conditions.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Staples Inc. announced that it will showcase its enhanced focus on new technologies and services in its retail stores with a new television spot airing regionally during the Super Bowl on Feb. 6. 

Short Hills, N.J. -- Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Co. announced that The Cheesecake Factory and Forever 21 will open at the company’s Mall at Short Hills, located in Short Hills, N.J.
 
Cheesecake Factory is slated to open a full-service restaurant, bakery and bar this summer. Forever 21 will open a 40,000+-sq.-ft. store in late 2011.

The Mall at Short Hills features 160 specialty stores and restaurants along with anchors Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Feeling confident that the worst is behind them, most retailers are ready to expand again as they turn their attention from steadying the ship to actively growing their business. That’s the big takeaway from Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2010, Forecasts for 2011 report. The annual study, sponsored by KPMG and the National Retail Federation Foundation, is widely acknowledged as the definitive state of the industry report.

New York City -- Barneys Co-Op, in Brooklyn, N.Y., won top honors in Chain Store Age’s 29th annual Store of the Year Retail Design Competition, which attracted entries from around the globe. Taking inspiration from the avant-garde art galleries that abound in the area, the 9,400-sq.-ft. store is in-tune with the emerging character of the neighborhood while being respectful of Brooklyn’s history. The space has a hip, upscale industrial look that feels right at home in the locale.

New York City -- Tesco PLC will install touch-screen energy display boards in 500 locations across the United Kingdom. The screens, which will be located in staff areas, will display which areas of the store are consuming the most energy. The hope is that the associates will respond and adjust energy usage as needed throughout the day.