News

Dollar General’s 10,000 plus locations will be open Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., but it’s not taking the heat for doing so like rivals Walmart and Target.

Dollar General on Monday announced a series of online and in-store promotions, including special opening hours, designed to establish it as a holiday destination for gift givers as opposed to a convenient located stores that sell consumables.

Sears Holdings is looking to replicate the success it had with digital initiatives in 2011 by turning to the same firm that helped it deliver results.

For the second year in a row, Billups Design was selected to lead digital creative for Sears and Kmart Black Friday and holiday ecommerce dynamic ad campaigns. The project includes Sears and Kmart brand awareness ads, local ad business groups, and site retargeting ads with dynamic product feeds designed to increase ecommerce sales, according to Billups.

BRADFORD, U.K. — Walmart took home an award for its private-label pet food package design at the Store Brand Decisions third annual Retailer Innovation Awards. The package label for Pure Balance was created by Parker Williams, Sun Branding Solutions’ creative design agency.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line announced the re-launch of Finishline.com with an enhanced focus on the customer.

Finish Line collaborated with several industry innovators on the re-launch. Big Spaceship, a digital agency dedicated to creating connective experiences, products and platforms, and Demandware, a  provider of cloud-based commerce solutions, have worked integrally with Finish Line’s digital and IT teams in the research, re-design and implementation of the site.

By Al Beery, [email protected]

New York -- Importers and manufacturers who sell to America's major retailers continue to be optimistic regarding a strong fourth quarter and holiday shopping season, according to Capital Business Credit, a non-bank lender that services the retail sector.

New York -- Best Buy is open to considering a lowered bid from founder Richard Schulze, according to the New York Post.

The report, citing sources close to the company, suggested the chain is now open to a bid of around $20 per share.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart is changing the date that its fourth-quarter dividend will be paid. The company said that the quarterly dividend of 39.75 cents per share will now be paid on Dec. 27 instead of on Jan. 2, 2013. The dividend will still be paid to shareholders of record on Dec. 7.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Wal-Mart may be taking the action to avoid a higher tax rate on the dividend if there's no agreement on the fiscal cliff.

San Jose, Calif. -- RetailNext announced that specialty retailer Cache has chosen RetailNext for its in-store traffic management and real-time monitoring system. The retailer is currently rolling out RetailNext's platform across the majority of its stores in 43 states.

New York -- Lowe's Cos. said Monday that its third-quarter net income jumped 76%, helped by lower costs and higher revenue. Its adjusted earnings without charges and its revenue both beat Wall Street forecasts.  

Lowe's earned $396 million for the three months ended Nov. 2. That compares with $225 in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 2% to $12.07 billion from $11.85 billion. Same-store sales were up 1.8%.