Sales sizzle
The Boston Globe
Ice cream is going fast at J.P. Licks. More people are flocking to local malls and movie theaters to cool off. And air-conditioning units at TAGS Hardware in Cambridge, Mass., are one of the season’s hottest items. Temperatures have been rising lately, and so have retailers' sales. Air conditioners "come in on our truck, and they're sold before they even get out to the sales floor," said Simon Shapiro, TAGS's store president. Fan and air conditioner sales have tripled since last summer, he said.More

Liz Claiborne to shut outlet stores
The News & Observer
Liz Claiborne will close all 87 of its outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico by early 2011, including the one at the Carolina Premium Outlets in Smithfield. The company's other outlet store brands, including Juicy Couture, Lucky, Kate Spade and Kensie, are not affected by the decision.More

Kohl's 500 Energy Star stores help company save $50 million
Greener Buildings
Kohl's Department Stores has reached another milestone in its aggressive sustainability campaign: 500 stores in the retail chain have now earned the Energy Star label. The designation, now borne by almost half the company's 1,089 stores, recognizes the sites for outstanding energy efficiency and building performance. To obtain the label, buildings must rank in the top 25 percent of the rating system set by the Energy Star program maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.More

NPD: Consumers resetting, not recovering
MediaPost News
An extensive new study from NPD Group finds that no matter what's going on with the economy, people aren't so much recovering as they are resetting. "Overall, consumers have reached this new equilibrium of spending and making decisions about things like groceries and apparel and electronics and automotive," Dee Warmath, SVP/Retail Insights for NPD, tells Marketing Daily. "The pie has shrunk, so each category is competing with another. So while there is a roving release of pent-up demand, there's not an overall increase in spending."More

Marshalls discount stores coming to Canada
The Globe and Mail
The apparel discount segment is about to expand in Canada. TJX Cos. Inc., which runs Winners low-cost fashion stores in Canada, will launch its Marshalls discount chain here next spring. "We believe Marshalls will offer Canadians yet another avenue to great brands, great fashions and excellent values for the entire family," said Carol Meyrowitz, chief executive officer of TJX in Framingham, Mass. "This is another example of our emphasis on international expansion."More

How green is my sneaker?
The Wall Street Journal
Are your Nikes greener than your Adidas? There will soon be an answer to this question, if the manufacturers have their way. A group of roughly 100 well-known apparel brands and retailers have developed a software tool to help them measure the environmental impact of their apparel and footwear, from raw material to garbage dump. Ultimately, the companies hope to display an eco-value on a tag or package, much like the Energy Star rating of appliances.More

Microsoft plans 'dozens' of retail stores
Dealerscope
Microsoft is planning to open "dozens" of retail stores, beyond the four that currently exist, the company's COO said recently. According to Softpedia, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner made the comments during the company's recent Worldwide Partner Conference. "We're going to build dozens more stores. And we're just getting started on that. And we're going to keep building them," Turner reportedly said at the event.More

Eyewear, with a bit of Disney and a touch of Apple
The New York Times
A wind tunnel. A concierge. A store that's shaped like an eyeball. It doesn't exactly sound like an eyeglasses retailer, but then, it's not supposed to. Trying to pull itself out of the recession, Luxottica, the $6.6 billion eyewear company with retail outlets like Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters, is experimenting with a concept store that draws a little bit from Apple, and a lot from Disneyland.More