News

Dario Franchitti and the Target Chip Ganassi race team continued their dominance of the Izod IndyCar Series this year, but any planned championship celebration of a third consecutive championship was marred by the death of fellow driver Dan Wheldon this past Sunday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Old Navy has partnered with Telemundo to launch telenovela-style miniseries for the web. The Spanish-language web novela, "Estilos Robados" (Stolen Styles), is a six part miniseries that launched last Friday, Oct. 14 and will air on Fridays through Nov. 18 on the "Estilos Robados" tab within Old Navy's Facebook page and on Old Navy's Spanish YouTube channel, as well as on Telemundo Movil.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe's Monday announced that it would close several stores and discontinue a number of planned new store projects as the company looks to bounce back from a second quarter of declining earnings and flat same-store sales.

The company closed 10 locations on Oct. 16 and said it would close another 10 within the month, following an inventory sell-through.

Cincinnati -- FRCH Design Worldwide has launched a newly enhanced website, FRCH.com, that provides visitors with easier access to the company’s design portfolio and more information about FRCH services, as well as greater insight into FRCH’s creative process and personality.

The new site, designed by Openfield Creative in Cincinnati, has enhanced functionality for visitors to view FRCH’s project work and create a portfolio targeted to their company’s specific needs.

The departure of two top Target executives in the span of 10 days probably wasn’t on the top of the company’s holiday wish list, but that’s the way the ball bounces in the retail big leagues. Last week, Target announced that Steve Eastman, president Target.com, had left the company to pursue other opportunities.

NEW YORK — Deloitte Monday released some disappointing news for retailers who were hoping that consumer spending might get a boost in the months leading up to the holiday season. The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index (Index) plunged in September to its lowest level since May 2009, primarily due to a significant fall in home prices and deterioration in real wages.

The Index, which comprises four components — tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices — fell to 2.39 from 2.51 the previous month. 

Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores reported Friday that same-store sales for the second quarter rose 6.7%. The news comes just days after the discounter agreed to a $1.6 billion buyout by private equity firm Ares Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Total revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 1 rose 8.8% to $363 million.
 

Arlington, Va. -- With the presidential campaign in full swing and discussion of a new national sales tax as a component to tax reform being discussed, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) reiterated the strong opposition of the retail community to any sort of national sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT).