News

In its eighth year, the annual Top Redevelopers survey continues to underscore the country’s emphasis on refurbishing and repositioning over building anew. Just as in the prior seven years, shopping center owners are concentrating on existing assets — sometimes tweaking, sometimes refreshing, sometimes razing sections and rebuilding. For all, however, the goal is to maximize exposure and returns for all the tenants involved.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop reported a net loss of $4.3 million in its third quarter, compared with net income of $0.9 million a year ago, and said it would close 50 to 60 underperforming locations in the next two years in an effort to improve its profitability and reach its “optimal” count of 225 to 250 locations.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is being hit by yet another lawsuit, as a proposed class action was filed Monday alleging that the world’s largest retailer and its staffing agencies broke federal minimum wage and overtime laws. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Illinois' Eastern Division claims that Wal-Mart and its staffing firms Labor Ready and QPS required temp workers in the Chicago area to arrive early for work, stay late, and work through lunches and breaks without pay.

Sidney, Neb. – Cabela’s Inc. said Thursday that its net income rose 28% in the third quarter, in line with expectations, as the outdoor sporting goods retailer's smaller store format outperformed its larger, standard format.

Uniqlo has made its first move in an ambitious plan to become a major presence in shopping malls throughout the nation. The company, Japan’s largest retailer and a division of Fast Retailing Co., has jump-started its U.S. expansion with the opening of a 43,000-sq.-ft. store in Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J.

BEIJING — Speaking at an event in Beijing, Walmart president and CEO, Mike Duke, outlined Walmart's plans to create a more sustainable global supply chain.

"Today I'm proud to announce a series of steps and commitments that will make Walmart's supply chain, in the United States, here in China, and around the world, more sustainable," said Mike Duke, President and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "The impact of these commitments will be global and make a difference with products sold around the globe."

Eager to make more effective business decisions, many retailers are reevaluating their business intelligence strategies. With a renewed focus on breaking down enterprise-wide silos, retailers are making a move to the next generation of BI, which includes giving line and store managers access to predictive analytics tools and multifunctional views of data.

NEW YORK — Walmart said on Wednesday that various staff groups involved in compliance and legal issues will soon all report to its general counsel, Reuters reported. The move comes as the retailer works on coordinating efforts after an alleged foreign bribery scandal.

In a memo sent by CEO Mike Duke, the retailer said that starting on Dec. 1, its compliance, ethics, investigations and legal units will become one organization under executive VP, general counsel and corporate secretary Jeff Gearhart.