Chain Store Age Executive Fax articles from December 2001

Chain Store Age Executive Fax archives from December 2001

Home Depot Canada. (New Stores, New Markets).(new Montreal store)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Home Depot Canada opened the doors to its first store in Montreal.

Borders. (New Stores, New Markets).(two new Illinois stores)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Borders will open in McHenry and Norridge, Ill.

Hot Topic. (New Stores, New Markets).(Colorado store)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Hot Topic leased space in Greeley (Colo.) Mall.

Scott's Food Stores. (New Stores, New Markets).(store in Fort Wayne, Ind. )(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Scott's Food Stores is building a store in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Tommy Hilfiger. (New Stores, New Markets).(shop in Manhattan)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Tommy Hilfiger opened a four-story shop in Manhattan.

Kohl. (New Stores, New Markets).(new stores in Boston and Nashville)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Kohl's will open 13 stores in Boston and four locations in Nashville, Tenn., in April.

Cato. (New Stores, New Markets).(new store openings)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Cato opened in Jackson, Miss.; Edgefield, S.C.; and Oklahoma City.

Motherhood Maternity. (New Stores, New Markets).(leases retail space)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Motherhood Maternity leased space in Lakewood (Calif.) Mall.

The Sharper Image. (New Stores, New Markets).(new store openings)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... The Sharper Image added stores in San Mateo, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio.

Thomasville Home Furnishings. (New Stores, New Markets).(new store opening)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Thomasville Home Furnishings is coming to Wilmington, Del., in two weeks.

Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer Home, abercrombie, Hollister and Eddie Bauer. (New Stores, New Markets).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer Home, abercrombie, Hollister and Eddie Bauer signed leases to open at the Village of Rochester Hills, Mich.

Ann & Hope will open three outlet stores. (New Stores, New Markets).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Ann & Hope will open three outlet stores--Ann & Hope Garden Outlet, Smart Buy Outlet and Curtain & Bath Outlet--in East Providence, R.I.

Claire. (New Stores, New Markets).(new store opening)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Look for Claire's to open at Redmond (Wash.) Towne Center.

Sports Fanatic. (New Stores, New Markets).(leases retail space)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Sports Fanatic leased space in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Gadzooks. (New Stores, New Markets).(new store opening)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Gadzooks plans to open at Mesa Mall, Grand Junction, Colo.

Kay Jewelers and Too. (New Stores, New Markets).(retail space leases)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Kay Jewelers and Too have leased space in Lubbock, Texas.

November Comps Rise Just 2.0% Holiday Outlook Lowered.(comparable store sales)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 7, 2001... Comparable-store sales increased 2% in November, marking the lowest sales growth for that month since 1990, when comps rose just 1.3%. The numbers come from a tally compiled by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (BTM). The results of November 2001...

Christiane Michaels was appointed president of The White Barn Candle Co.. (People in the News).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Christiane Michaels was appointed president of The White Barn Candle Co., a unit of Intimate Brands....

Today's Man. (People in the News).(Leslie Schwartzberg appointed general merchandise manager and senior vice president)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Today's Man named Leslie Schwartzberg senior VP and general merchandise manager....

Safeway. (People in the News).(Bruce Everette appointed executive vice president)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Safeway named Bruce Everette corporate executive VP....

Circuit City. (People in the News).(Carl Liebert appointed president of Northeast operating division)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Circuit City named Carl Liebert president of its Northeast operating division....

Sears. (People in the News).(company personnel changes)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Sears appointed Kathryn Bufano executive VP of its apparel business, effective Jan. 1....

Office Depot. (People in the News).(company personnel information)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Office Depot hired Patricia Morrison as executive VP and CIO....

Jo-Ann Stores. (People in the News).(promotes William Dandy)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... William Dandy was named senior VP of marketing of Jo-Ann Stores.

Ames to Shutter 54 Additional Stores.(department store closing information)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Embarking on its third store-closing spree in the past five months, Ames will begin liquidating 54 stores at the end of the month and close them entirely by March 2002. The majority of closings will occur in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Retailers Contain Shopping Carts.(with electronic shopping cart systems)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Smith's Food & Drug and Fred Meyer have installed electronic shopping-cart containment systems around the parking lot perimeters of their Salt Lake City stores. The systems are similar to invisible fences and are designed to prevent carts from...

Home Depot Outlines Future Plans.(new and existing store management strategy data)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Home Depot will scale back the size of its stores and the number of store openings in the future to minimize cannibalization of its existing stores. The chain will open roughly 200 stores annually over the next three years, with some of those...

Brooks Pharmacy Buying 80 Osco Stores.(in Boston and New Hampshire area)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Brooks Pharmacy will gain entry into the Boston market and expand its presence in southern New Hampshire, thanks to an acquisition of 80 Osco Drug stores from Albertson's. The deal, which is expected to dose by the end of January, carries a...

Report Says: Be Wary of Shoplifters.(shoplifting report data)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Retailers should be on the lookout for a rise in shoplifting this holiday season and throughout 2002, according to a pair of recent studies. Will Cupchik, author of "Why Honest People Shoplift or Commit Other Acts of Theft," says stress,...

Drug Emporium franchisee Nortex Drug Distributors. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Drug Emporium franchisee Nortex Drug Distributors filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month. It plans to focus its efforts on five stores in Dallas (3), Piano and Hurst, Texas.

Build-A-Bear Workshop. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(company expansion information)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Build-A-Bear Workshop plans to open stores in Great Britain in 2002.

Frank's Nursery & Crafts. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(store closing data)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Frank's Nursery & Crafts commenced store closings at 12 stores in seven states.

WH Smith. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(company expansion plans)
December 7, 2001... WH Smith says it will open 120 stores over the next three years. The specialty retailer plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland as well as introduce new store formats.

Ahold completed its acquisition of Alliant Exchange. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(acquisition confirmation)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Ahold completed its acquisition of Alliant Exchange, the parent company of Alliant Foodservice.

Noddle Development. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(building acquisition information)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Noddle Development acquired the 131,000-sq.-ft. Southgate Shopping Center at Nevada Avenue and Southgate Road in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Amazon.com bought parts of Egghead.com. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(acquisition information)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Amazon.com bought parts of Egghead.com for $6.1 million. It gets the Egghead.com name, plus business documents, product information and Web-site data. The sale also included customer data.

New Stores, New Markets.(New store opening information)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... 99 Cents Only Stores opened yesterday in Riverside, Calif.... Borders' first store in the state of Mississippi will open next spring in Flowood. The chain will also open in Denver in March 2002.... In late 2002, Barnes & Noble will open in...

Kroger Reorganizes Divisions, Cuts Jobs After Earnings Drop.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Supermarket retailers are drawing up battle plans for even stiffer competition amongst themselves and against discount supercenters, which have been stealing consumers and market share via rock-bottom prices. In a conference call with analysts,...

Albertson's Boosting California Cap Ex.(capital expenditures in Northern California)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Albertson's is increasing its capital spending in Northern California by more than threefold. The grocer plans to spend roughly $185 million in 2002 on new stores and remodels in that region, compared with the $60 million it invested this year....

J.C. Penney Scales Back DC Operations.(distribution center)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... J.C. Penney is phasing out some of its third-party fulfillment operations at a distribution center in Wauwatosa, Wis., resulting in the loss of 91 jobs. The facility which was built in 1999, fulfills Web orders for companies such as Wet Seal...

People in the News.(retail chain executive appointments)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... Ron Griffin, senior VP and CIO of The Home Depot, was named executive VP and CIO of Fleming. He will join the food wholesaler and retailer in early 2002. Griffin has been with Home Depot for 10 years.... Best Buy appointed Tony Hart VP of...

Ahold Units to Compensate Shoppers.(Stop & Shop and Peapod pay out for price discrepancies)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... Supermarket chain Stop & Shop and e-grocer Peapod, both divisions of Ahold USA, have agreed to compensate select consumers in the Boston area after pricing discrepancies arose unintentionally. The companies setup a $200,000 escrow fund that...

Shopping Ranks Third in Internet Usage.(International Mass Retail Association study)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... More people are using the Web to research products than to purchase them, according to a study conducted by the International Mass Retail Association. What's more, while men are more likely than women to go on line to seek information on...

Apparel, Gift Certificates Top Gift List.(Taubman Centers survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Forget about giving music, movies or jewelry as gifts this holiday season. This year, consumers wish to receive apparel and gift certificates more than any other items, according to a survey conducted on the Web sites of shopping center company...

Ross Stores. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Ross Stores is spending $100 million to construct a 1.3 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in York County, S.C.

Apparel Retailer Maurices is acquiring most of the assets of Timbuktu Station. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Apparel retailer Maurices is acquiring most of the assets of Timbuktu Station, a 15-store, women's clothing chain.

Airborne Freight. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Shipping company Airborne Freight will install kiosks in 960 OfficeMax retail stores over the next three years. The first kiosks will open in 32 stores in Cleveland and Seattle.

Rite Aid. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... Workers at Rite Aid's distribution center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., voted against representation by United Steelworkers Union Local 351.

Marks & Spencer. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... Marks & Spencer debuted in India last weekend by opening two stores, in Delhi and Mumbai.

Correction.
December 14, 2001... American supermarket chain Safeway is not abandoning its on-line shopping service, as was reported incorrectly here on Nov. 30. Rather, it was U.K.-based Safeway PLC that said that the investment needed to make its on-line store worthwhile was...

Bed Bath & Beyond. (New Stores, New Markets).(and Jewel-Osco plans stores in Grand Plaza, Chicago)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Jewel-Osco and Bed Bath & Beyond both plan to open stores in Grand Plaza, located in the Chicago area.

The Home Depot. (New Stores, New Markets).(New Brooklyn, NY store)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... The Home Depot opened its 10th store in the New York City metro area in Brooklyn near Coney Island. The chain plans to double the number of stores in the city within three years.

Barnes & Noble is coming to DeKalb, Ill., in November 2002. (New Stores, New Markets).(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Barnes & Noble is coming to DeKalb, Ill., in November 2002. The chain will also open in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Ithaca, N.Y., in 2003. Whole Foods Markets will also open in Palm Beach Gardens.

Wal-Mart. (New Stores, New Markets).(to open in Fort Wayne, IN)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Wal-Mart may anchor a shopping center in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Virgin Megastore. (New Stores, New Markets).(to open in Toronto in 2003)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Virgin Megastore is coming to Toronto in 2003.

99 Cents Only Stores. (New Stores, New Markets).(opened shops in Riverside and Clairemont Mesa, CA)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... 99 Cents Only Stores opened shops in Riverside and Clairemont Mesa, Calif.

Snyders Drug Stores. (New Stores, New Markets).(to open new store in Savage, MN)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Snyders Drug Stores will open next summer in Savage, Minn.

Steve Madden. (New Stores, New Markets).
December 21, 2001... Steve Madden opened stores in Syracuse, N.Y., and Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

The Sharper Image. (New Stores, New Markets).
December 21, 2001... The Sharper image added a shop in Bellevue (Wash.) Square.

Menards. (New Stores, New Markets).
December 21, 2001... Menards is planning to open in St. Paul, Minn.

Borders. (New Stores, New Markets).
December 21, 2001... Borders will open in Chino, Calif., in spring 2002.

Dollar Tree. (New Stores, New Markets).(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Dollar Tree leased space in Bartlett, Tenn.

RadioShack Revamps Business, Closing 35 Unprofitable Stores.(RadioShack has pro-tax charge of $124 mn in fourth quarter, reorganization)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... At a time when many retailers are attempting to lower their inventory levels before the end of the year, RadioShack has performed an internal sweep of its business to start 2002 more streamlined and harmonized. The consumer-electronics retailer...

Kroger Returning To The Windy City.(Kroger opens warehouse-style supermarket Food4Less in Chicago)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Attempting to jump the gun on the discount chains that have been stealing customers with their supercenter formats, Kroger is bringing its warehouse-style supermarket concept Food4Less to Chicago. The move marks the company's return to the...

Macy's West To Remodel Calif. Stores.(Macy's West remodels stores in California for consumers with disabilities)(Legal Beat)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Macy's West will remodel its stores in California so that the entrances, rest rooms, fitting rooms and register stands are more accessible for consumer with mobility disabilities. The action partially settles a class action lawsuit for the...

Wal-Mart Admits To Screening Workers.(Americans with Disabilities Act violations)(Legal Beat)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Wal-Mart confessed to a Sacramento federal court that its job application form had screened for disabilities, a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The retailer says it will pay $6.8 million and change the way it hires...

Rite Aid Closing All Stores In Columbus.(Rite Aid closes 11 stores, sells others to rival CVS)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Steep competition and a decline in its share of the prescription-drug market in Columbus, Ohio, has spurred Rite Aid to close 11 stores and sell its remaining nine locations there to rival CVS. The stores are expected to close or be converted...

May Co. Acquiring Men's Tuxedo Chain.(May Department Stores acquires After Hours)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Increasing its grasp on all things wedding-related, May Department Stores is spending an undisclosed sum to acquire After Hours, which operates 242 stores in 19 states. After Hours will become a part of David's Bridal--which was acquired by May...

Atlanta Area Mall Closing For Good.(Avondale Mall closes doors)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Failure to come up with a big-name anchor tenant is just one of the reasons why Avondale Mall will shut its doors on Jan. 1, 2002. Located in Decatur, Ga., the shopping center has also been hurt by the weak economy and the effects of Sept. 11....

McCrory Corp. retained DJM Asset Management. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(Wll sell store leases and fee-owned properties)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... MeCrory Corp. retained DJM Asset Management to conduct a sale of its store leases and fee-owned properties next month.

Acme Food and Drug. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(capital spending plans)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Acme Food and Drug will spend $70 million in capital expenditures in 2002, a 17% increase from last year.

Genuardi's Family Markets. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(ends video rental operations)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Genuardi's Family Markets ceased renting videos at its 38 stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

Kmart. (This Week's Retail News Nuggets).(operate 24 hours until Christmas Eve)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... All Kmart stores are now operating around the clock until 8 p.m. on Dec. 24.

Wild Oats Markets. (People In The News).(names Edward Dunlap chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Edward Dunlap was named CFO of Wild Oats Markets. He succeeds Frances Rathke, who has been serving as interim CFO since July. Dunlap most recently was VP, finance director of Gap Inc.'s European division.

Cablevision. (People In The News).(Jeffrey Yapp named president of Cablevision retail division)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Jeffrey Yapp was appointed group president of the retail division of Cablevision. He will oversee the operations of The Wiz and movie theater chain Clearview Cinemas.

PetsMart. (People In The News).(names Robert Moran president and chief operating officer)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... Robert Moran was named president and COO of PETsMART. He recently served as president of the company's North American stores.

Wal-Mart to join Fleming. (People In The News).(former Wal-Mart officer J.R. Campbell joins Fleming as VP)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... J.R. Campbell is leaving Wal-Mart to join Fleming as executive VP of merchandising.

J.Crew Group. (People In The News).(names Blair Gordon executive VP, creative director)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2001... J. Crew Group named Blair Gordon executive VP, creative director, effective Jan. 7.

E-Commerce Sales Rise In December. (People In The News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 21, 2001... American consumers spent $2.6 billion on line in the first week of December, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/NetRatings. That represents a 91% increase from the average spending of $1.4 billion per week in...