News

St. Louis -- Grocer Save-A-Lot, a subsidiary of SuperValu, said Tuesday it will open a 330,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Lexington, N.C., on Nov. 30.

The $24 million project is designed to support Save-A-Lot’s growth in region.

The new DC will employ 35 employees initially and is a collaboration with the state of North Carolina and its One North Carolina Fund, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Davidson County and the City of Lexington.

New York -- The retail industry experienced a weekend that was a roaring success in terms of customer traffic, sales and another key metric that was overlooked: No one died! At least not in the gruesome fashion of a few years ago when a Walmart employee was trampled by an unruly mob as he opened the doors at a Long Island, NY, store on Black Friday. There was an incident this year involving an older man who collapsed at a Target store in West Virginia and later died at a hospital, but it was determined he had a pre-existing heart condition.

London – WorldPay, the global leader in payment processing has appointed Charlotte Speller, VP global marketing, for the e-commerce division of the business.

Charlotte joins WorldPay from Sage Pay, where she was head of marketing and PR and publisher of e-commerce and payments magazine Moving Money.

Casey Carl is Target’s new president of multichannel with responsibility for the retailer’s website. In his new role, Carl will oversee Target’s digital platforms including mobile, social and Target.com and also will retain his prior responsibilities as SVP merchandising for entertainment, toys, sporting goods and electronics.

Beaumont, Texas -- Conn’s announced that it completed a $20 million expansion, to $450 million, of its revolving credit facility, which expires in July 2015. The company received a commitment from one new lender and received an increased commitment from one of the existing participants in the bank group.

Target was among those retailers whose decision to open at midnight on Black Friday paid off handsomely this past weekend as record numbers of shoppers visited stores and set new sales records.

RESTON, Va. — Retailers who promoted their online presence as a way to avoid the crowds this past weekend were rewarded for their efforts with record sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

New York City -- Retail sales broke records during the Thanksgiving weekend, climbing 16%, according to a survey by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation.  Shoppers spent $52.4 billion, up from $45 billion last year.

A record 225 million shoppers visited stores and malls over the Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year. Shoppers on average spent $398.62, up from $365.34 last year, the NRF said.