Quentin Fottrell/Market Watch – This year is shaping up to be a bumper year for retail. The National Retail Federation, the industry group representing retailers, said that it expects sales in all of November and December — excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales — to hit $682 billion this year, up 4% on last year. Last […]
News
19 store openings and closings in Michigan in time for 2017 holidays
Paula Gardner/MLive – Store closings came fast and furious in 2017. The announcements came before many people had taken down holiday decorations. Macy’s, Kmart and Sears all started the year with a wave of closings that didn’t seem to slow down until summer. Many of the closings involved bankruptcies. Payless, for example, closed hundreds of stores during […]
South Mall, under new ownership, on an ‘upward path’
Jon Harris/The Morning Call – It wasn’t too long ago when the South Mall in Salisbury Township hit its low point. The roof sprang leaks and shoppers had to dodge water buckets throughout the mall’s promenade during the winter four years ago. Meanwhile, the mall’s marketing budget was nonexistent, and its website wasn’t even optimized for […]
Retailers are ready for you to spend money during holidays
Paula Gardner/MLive – You’re expected to spend quite a bit in the next few weeks. The retail world is geared up for the holiday shopping season, which is the time of year when many stores make money – or lose it. And they’re working hard to lure you in. Yes, commercialism has threaded itself into […]
Black Friday has officially taken over November
Anna Marum/The Oregonian – For the second year running, Black Friday started the day after Halloween. Amazon opened its Black Friday Deals Store on a Wednesday – Nov. 1 to be exact – and proclaimed, “the holiday shopping season starts now.” Kohl’s had select Black Friday deals the same day, as well as a promotion that allowed shoppers to […]
Apparel retail is ceding its lead role at the mall
Joel Groover/Shopping Centers Today – Mall landlords are doubling down on a strategy that would once have been unthinkable: reappraising their apparel-based tenant lineups. Several have been outspoken of late about this pivot, a signal to Wall Street of their commitment to this new direction. “If there’s any criticism to be made on our industry, […]
