Retailers making 'Black Friday' a month-long effort
The Wall Street Journal
Black Friday has gone from a one-day event to a month-long parade of promotions this year, as retailers are making a dash for early holiday cash. Strategies include high-profile discounting efforts by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that have stirred online price wars for books and DVDs. More subdued efforts include Kohl's Corp. this year having more items with deeper discounts in the flyer for its annual pre-Christmas sale that began Wednesday, along with displaying prices much more prominently in stores than it has in the past. Target Corp. was one of the earliest, cutting prices by 50 percent in October for certain toys, earlier in the season and a steeper discount than last year. More

Al Gore calls for a green building revolution
Los Angeles Times
Saying he "used to be the next president of the United States" and is now a "recovering politician," Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore spoke at Greenbuild, the world's largest sustainable design conference, calling for a green revolution to solve the country's problems.More

Scenes from my 15th Greenbuild expo
Reuters
Wow. My 15th Greenbuild (including before it was called that), recalls Rob Watson with Greener World Media. In a totally great way, this year's event is a far cry from the 150 barefoot people sitting outdoors in Big Sky, Montana, in the mid-'90s trying to figure out what is this thing called green buildings.More

U.S. retail stocks rise; Macy's upgraded, profit forecast boosted
The Wall Street Journal
Retail-sector stocks rose today, a day after retailers reported their best monthly sales in over a year, with Macy's Inc. leading the gainers after analysts at JPMorgan upgraded the department-store operator to overweight from neutral. The S&P Retail Index, outpacing the broader equities market, rose 1.2 percent to 393.26 in early trading. Investors largely shrugged off Labor Department data showing that the U.S. unemployment rate climbed a more-than-expected 10.2 percent in October. Retail was one of the sectors that saw large job losses.More

Dollar General dresses up for its debut
The Wall Street Journal
The year's most widely anticipated new U.S. stock is scheduled to make its debut this week, with discount retailer Dollar General Corp. trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DG. The company, which began in 1955 as one store in Kentucky, has swelled to more than 8.500 locations in the U.S. selling items ranging from groceries to sweatpants at $10 or less.More

Costco opens first Manhattan store, looks at sites
Bloomberg
Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse club, is opening its first store on Manhattan and is looking at other sites. "This is a big deal for us," Joe Portera, an executive vice president and chief operating officer of the eastern and Canadian division, said in an interview at the new store. "We’ve been trying to get in forever. It’s very important that we do another one."More

Wegmans plans growth in Northeast corridor
The Ithaca Journal
While the company's Rochester roots remain strong, Wegmans Food Markets CEO Danny Wegman says that the firm's strategy involves growth largely outside New York state. Wegmans is opened its 75th store, in Leesburg, Va., and is already a major retailing presence in Pennsylvania and the Washington, D.C., area.More

Apple's "significant store" strategy
The Wall Street Journal
Apple said that it expects to open 40 to 50 new retail locations next year and that it will focus on bigger flagship stores in major cities. Apple said that it expects to open 40 to 50 new retail locations next year and that it will focus on bigger flagship stores in major cities.At a media preview of its fourth New York store, this time on the Upper West Side, Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president of retail, said the company sees this location, as well as its glass cube on Fifth Avenue and newly opened store at the Louvre in Paris, as "significant stores."More

Play your cards right
Entrepreneur
Consider this: Almost 60 percent of small businesses recently surveyed by the National Small Business Association have used a credit card in the past year to meet their capital needs. It's not much of a surprise when you consider that SBA loans have become scarce, and traditional lenders are holding tight to funds during this recession. Many entrepreneurs are prepared to swap sweat equity and personal savings for a successful start. But what if all that is not quite enough.More

Bright holiday ahead for food and drink
Progressive Grocer
While analysts are anticipating a difficult holiday season, the forecast for sales of food and drink is looking merry. The category is expected to see the most growth this year compared with other categories researched by Santa Monica, Calif.-based IBISWorld. Consumers aren't expected to change their spending patterns drastically from last year. However, Christmas sales are estimated to grow 0.19 percent to $128.1 billion across four traditional categories: food and drink, gifts, decorations and other (flowers, postage, etc.).More

Staples Canada recognized by Canadian group
Recycling Today
Ontario Electronic Stewardship Recognizes Staples Canada for Expanding WEEE Collection through Canada The Ontario Electronic Stewardship has congratulated Staples Canada on becoming a leader among retail outlets to accept unwanted electronics and televisions for reuse and recycling. By December this year, Staples Canada will have 85 stores collecting electrical and electronic equipment.More

Research: Holiday retail outlook is positive
Retail Customer Experience
This holiday season could be a make or break year for many retailers as most cannot survive another year of suppressed sales. However, on the bright side, the overall holiday retail outlook is positive, according to industry research firm IBISWorld.More