Kohl's as recession winner emerges to acquire rivals
Bloomberg
Kohl's Corp. is making the most of its rivals' woes. The fourth-largest department-store chain is accumulating cash to grab locations abandoned by shrinking or defunct retailers, said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mansell. Any store takeovers would come on top of as many as 25 new locations Kohl's already plans to build for next year at a cost of about $275 million, he said. More

Retail industry group predicts small rise in holiday sales
Chicago Tribune
A retail industry report predicts holiday sales will rise by about 1 percent or slightly higher, marking one of the first positive holiday forecasts this year. The International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade association for the shopping center industry, forecast sales at major chain stores, excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will rise 1 percent for the combined months of November and December and gain 1.5 percent for the extended November-through-January season. More

For food retailers, LEDs light the way to energy savings, higher sales
Environmental Leader
A significant increase in utility rebates, a steady rise in electricity costs and the Obama administration’s funding earmarked for energy-efficiency projects makes it the best time for food retailers to upgrade to LED lighting in the U.S. At least one retailer is ahead of the game on LED adoption. Star Market, which is owned by Supervalu, opened its first all-LED store this week, reports Supermarket News. Supervalu claims the store, which is in Mass., will be the first supermarket location to exclusively feature LED lighting throughout the store and parking lot.More

7-Eleven store owners battle credit cards' swipe fees
The Wall Street Journal
Dozens of 7-Eleven store owners, in a gambit to call attention to credit cards' swipe fees, gathered in Washington to present Congress with 130 boxes containing nearly 1.7 million signatures in favor of lowering the fees. The franchisees joined 7-Eleven Chief Executive Joe DePinto and House Democratic lawmakers on the U.S. Capitol grounds to argue the petition drive showed consumers were also frustrated with the fees, which have fueled a major spat between credit card companies and retailers. More

Blacks Leisure to close 89 stores
Retail Week
Blacks Leisure is to shut 89 of its loss-making stores and cut jobs at its head office as part of a restructuring. The outdoor specialist described the 89 shops due to close as a "considerable drag" on the outdoor division, which has traded profitably over the last two years. More

U.S. retail landlords less willing to negotiate
Reuters
While retailers are likely to face another tough holiday season, it may be much more difficult for them to extract any concessions from their landlords to help ease the ride, a top restructuring expert said. Earlier this year, as some retailers were on the cusp of bankruptcy, many demanded that landlords reduce their rent, saying they could not survive without such concessions. More

Woolworths set to relaunch as Alworths
Brand Republic
A plan by former Woolworths directors to relaunch the store under a new name has come to fruition with three stores branded 'Alworths' set to open, according to a report. The Independent claims the plan is to launch 50 stores, which will be Woolworths in all but name. More

Bass Pro Shops doubles as tourist attraction
RetailWire
Many retailers talk about making the shopping experience more entertaining for consumers. For Bass Pro Shops, fun doesn't even begin to explain the experience as the chain has grown into a major tourist attraction on its own. The chain's stores in the U.S. and Canada, which are part museum, aquarium, art gallery and conservation-education center in addition to retail store, are expected to draw roughly 100 million visitors this year. More

Retailers embrace language of youth
Canwest News Service via The National Post
A funny thing happened when Nathalie Balfour posted an article about her job description on the company blog. Within days, the public relations supervisor for Lululemon Athletica in Vancouver received dozens of responses from all sorts of interested parties. "It was so interesting to see how quickly doing that blog turned into a conversation with people within the company and externally," she says. More

Sony puts games in your pocket
Forbes
Apple offered you 1,000 songs in your pocket. Now Sony wants to put up to 50 games or more there. Sony's newest handheld gaming system, the PSP "Go," made its U.S. debut this week. What Sony calls its "smallest and mightiest PSP system yet," the PSP Go has a 3.8-inch LCD screen, weighs 5.6 ounces, has 16 gigabytes of flash memory (and another 16 GB with a memory stick). More

Retailers make small advances into the world of carbon footprinting
STORES
Savvy Wal-Mart shoppers can evaluate a price tag in a nanosecond. Within the next few years, executives at the world's largest retailer are betting that customers will become just as discerning when it comes to labels that provide data about a product's carbon footprint, water usage and waste. More