News

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu is closing approximately 60 stores as the company moves forward with its turnaround plans. The company will shutter 38 stores in its retail food reporting segment and 22 Save-A-Lot locations. The majority of the stores are expected to close before Dec. 1, the end of the company’s fiscal 2013 third quarter.

SEATTLE — David's Bridal, a retailer of wedding attire and other nuptial-related items, has signed on to use Mercent's Retail software platform.

David’s Bridal is utilizing Mercent Retail to increase online sales, revenue and profits across Amazon.com and high growth comparison shopping engines, Mercent said.

NEW YORK — Macy’s has raised $4 million for March of Dimes and various charitable organizations across the country as a result of its 2012 “Shop For A Cause” event.

WAYNE, N.J. — Halloween has arrived at Toys"R"Us. The retailer has launched Trick“R”Treat “boo”tiques in its stores nationwide and online. The designated shops will feature the usual assortment along with an all-new, affordable line of classic Halloween fashions for infants, toddlers and big kids called Boo!, available exclusively at Toys“R”Us stores nationwide.

THe Boo! line will include bumble bee, monster, pumpkin and other popular customes ranging in price from $14.99 to $29.99.

Back-to-school shopping, the second-largest shopping season in the United States, helped make this August a strong month for retailers. Shoppers took advantage of back-to-school promotions to outfit students for the new school year. ShopperTrak, the world’s largest counter and analyzer of retail foot traffic, found that August’s retail foot traffic increased 6.3% compared with the previous month and increased 12.3% compared with the same month last year. 
   

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Dillard's has named Chris Johnson as the company's VP real estate. Johnson, who has served as the Dillard's VP accounting since 2006, will assume the role following the retirement of James Cherry, Jr. in December.

NEW YORK — Safeway will package $150 million in real healthcare savings into an overall wellness strategy to be implemented over the course of 2013, the grocer's chairman and CEO Steve Burd told analysts Thursday morning at the Goldman Sachs 19th Annual Global Retailing Conference.

If it seems like Dollar General stores are everywhere it’s because they are. And more keep coming presenting price sensitive shoppers with a viable alternative to Walmart.

The Marine Stewardship Council received a nearly $11 million cash infusion from a trio of charitable foundations, including the Walton Family Foundation.

Walmart this week modified a layaway program that had yet to begin after Toys "R" Us said it wouldn’t charge a service fee and lifted minimum purchase requirements for its program.

The layaway saga began in late August when Walmart said the start date of its layaway program would begin on September 16, a month earlier than the prior year. Curiously, Walmart also said at that time the fee to open a layaway account would increase to $15 from $5 the prior year.