JCPenney Gets Ready to Go Green
from Retailing Today
JCPenney will be the first anchor store to open at the one-million-square-foot Village of Fairview, north of Dallas. Following the ribbon cutting ceremony on July 31, the 115,000-square-foot Penney store will be the first in the nation designed to LEED-certified standards. More

Retailers Brace for Tax-free Holiday
from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cash registers might not ring quite as loudly this year as Georgia kicks off its annual tax-free holiday aimed at back-to-school shoppers. There is a recession, after all. Retailers hope the July 30-Aug. 2 period of sales tax-free shopping on everything from corsets to computers will jump-start consumer spending as the second-most important retail season of the year gets under way. More

Retailers Feel CIT's Pain
from Kiplinger
One big repercussion from CIT Group’s woes: Even more new troubles for retailers. The $3-billion deal that the lender orchestrated with bondholders will keep CIT afloat, at least for several months, but it will crimp a key business line for retailers: vendor financing. More

Christmas Already Showing Up in Stores
from the Los Angeles Times
A small display of snow-topped villages and ornaments sits nestled between the mattress and hardware departments at the Sears store in Manassas, Va. And Toys R Us stores in the area were inviting children to decorate cards and nibble on candy canes while their parents shopped Christmas sales. Yes, it's July, but some stores have decided that to get ahead of the poor economy they need to start now on the holiday shopping season. More

Deal-minded Shoppers Cutting Back
from The Arizona Republic
Families and students will be hunting for bargains this year as they shop for back-to-school clothes and supplies. Consumers with finances and job security on their minds will be comparing prices for everything and shopping at some non-conventional outlets such as drugstores, office-supply chains and thrift shops. "Last year, people were worried about where their money was going, and this year, they are worried about where it is coming from," said Jodi Noble, a partner in Deloitte's audit practice in Phoenix. More

Study: Retailers Have Become Green Innovators
from The Gourmet Retailer
A Retail Systems Research (RSR) report released yesterday in partnership with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has found that top retailers have established themselves as innovators in environmental sustainability and remain committed to incorporating green practices into their operations. According to the report, retailers have integrated eco-friendly practices into their business models, business practices and branding. By doing so, retailers have achieved significant cost savings in their operations and benefited their brand images. More

Wal-Mart, SunEdison Announce Solar-energy Pilot in Puerto Rico
from Chain Store Age
Most would admit tat 2008 was a bad year for most retailers — and 2009 hasn’t exactly been great, either — yet there is hope that the bottom has been reached and the economy might show signs of real improvement before the year is out. Not that all retailers are in the same boat. More