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The article reports on the development of different luxury and outlet centers in the U.S. Developers Prime Retail Inc. and Chelsea Premium Outlet Centers plan to construct landscape-themed amenities and full-service restaurants. Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, the outlet division of Saks Inc., has opened a new store in April 2008 in Orlando, Florida.

The article reports on the establishment of Retail Property Solutions (RPS) by former sparring partners Beverly Ricks and Daryl Mangan in Atlanta, Georgia. It states that the partners are former opponents in real estate business, and informs that Ricks represented Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, while Mangan was the real estate head for Federated Department Stores. It also mentions the educational attainment of both partners, as well as their initiatives for the development of RPS.

The article reports on the new concept of business revealed by Borders in the U.S. The store, comprising nearly 30,000-square-foot of new design ideas and digital services provided into a former CompUSA, is intended to help the bookseller reverse years of declining traffic and slumping sales. Borders is making its shopping experience more interactive to compete with the Internet.

The article reports on the design of new packaging for Ross-Simons' jewelry. The jewelry retailer merged suggestions of the two in a store redesign. The Cranston, Rhode Island-based chain had already revamped its packaging, creating a signature box reminiscent of a box of chocolates, using a rich shade of brown with mint-green trimming and shiny silver lettering. Meanwhile, Chute Gerdeman Retail loved the new package, which became the inspiration for stores that look like a chocolate box.

The article reports on the growth of Bloomingdale's, a chain of upscale department stores owned by Macy's Inc., which is also the parent company of Macy's, in the U.S. According to chief financial officer Karen Hoguet, Bloomingdale's performed very well in all of their new stores, which gives them added confidence in expanding this brand more aggressively.

The article reports on the expansion of the retail banking industry in the U.S. It states that retail banks juggle branding, marketing and real estate. Employees at the Umpqua Bank have delivered ice cream and cut grass to promote their new, service oriented branches, which also sponsor movie nights and yoga classes. While the First Market Bank will cash a customer's check and carry groceries out to the car.

The article reports that Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. emerges from bankruptcy protection with a brighter outlook in Jacksonville, Florida. The restructuring that chief executive officer Peter Lynch took surpassed expectations, with the company showing a profit for fiscal 2007 of $300.6 million, on $7.2 billion in revenue, versus a loss of $361 million, on $7.1 billion in revenue in 2006. The centerpiece of Lynch's long-term strategy is a program to remodel the 521 stores that remain in the chain.

The article focuses on the opening of Threads, a retail test concept for babies clothing, by Williams-Sonoma Inc. in Bellevue, Washington. The moved is said to be due to the downturn of the housing market that hits the home furnishings sector. It is believed that infant clothing is among the hottest markets nowadays with a growing number of children which is projected to grow by 5 percent until 2010.

The article reports on the declined attendance of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association's (SGMA) annual Super Show in the U.S. According to Mike May, spokesman of SGMA, the decline is affected by the bruised sporting goods market, and it is the main reason that several businesses have gobbled up smaller entities in the years and are increasingly developing private-label lines of merchandise. Moreover, sports apparel sales has also showed 23% of the total sales.

The article highlights the organic pizza of Pizza Fusion. According to reports, the Florida-based pizza chain wants a healthy menu for its customers, opting to serve an organic pizza in their ecologically friendly restaurants. Their pizzas are cooked in ovens that also heat the waters, and are served to customers who sit on seat cushions made from soy instead of Styrofoam, packed into cardboard boxes.

The article focuses on the business developments and plans of Façonnable company. According to reports, during its seventh year under Nordstrom Inc., the company has maintained its own operations team and expanded to 37 boutique in Europe, has sold to whole sale stores, obtaining about $220 million in annual sales on average. Now under its new owner, the Lebanon-based M1 Group said to rollout Façonnable stores in the U.S. by 2008.

The article focuses on the various toy recall of toy manufacturer, Mattel Inc. and its probable impact on small retailer in the U.S. According to reports, August 2007 was a hard time for Mattel, to its reputation and stock price after announcing a series of toys recall associated to lead paints and potentially deadly magnets. The report says that its impact on retail sales is confined only to a small section of the market.

The article focuses on the status of the athletic footwear market in the U.S. Bala Cynwyd footwear and athletics analyst John Shanley says that the market does not have real growth. Sales across the sector have barely increased in 2007. In addition, the performance of the top three chains, Foot Locker Inc., Finish Line Inc. and Athlete's Foot, have decreased or stayed flat in 2006.

The article focuses on the success of the new marketing strategy adopted by Maurices Inc. in Duluth, Minnesota. It claims that Maurices enjoyed favorable results after focusing their brands on women's wear. Vivian Behrens, chief marketing officer, claims that such strategy allowed them to concentrate on female customers. Meanwhile, Maurice has already grown to 600 stores in 2007 across the U.S. after it was acquired by Dress Barn Inc. in 2007.

The article focuses on the business concept utilized by men's clothing company Brooks Brothers in the U.S. It claims that the experimental concept, which involves the addition of Country Club products to Brooks Brothers' sportswear, has yielded positive results. The concept likewise exposes the company's products to new sets of customers aside from wealthy shoppers. Meanwhile, Brooks Brothers was bought by Retail Brand Alliance Inc. from Marks & Spencer Group PLC in 2001.

The article reports on the methods used by the shopping industry in the U.S. to keep up with the competition brought by the Internet. It expanded and kept up with the competition for it offered the best customer interaction with goods and services. Store-based retailers such as JCPenney used online retailing where it transferred its catalog customers to the Internet and other malls set up electronic commerce centers which allowed its customers to order online and picked the item at the store.

The article reports on the projected upswing for bridal stores amidst the growth of the wedding market in the U.S. Survey findings show that close to four million "echo boomers," or the children of the baby boomer generation, will turn 27 years old each year between 2007 and 2030. This represents an enormous market that will generate ample business for bridal stores through 2027 to 2032.

The article focuses on German discount grocery chain Aldi's announcement of a major U.S. expansion, promising at least 20 new stores for the central Florida cities of Orlando and Tampa. Batavia, Illinois-based Aldi USA operates about 800 stores in 26 American states. The German parent has 5,000 stores in 16 countries. The company is privately held and is reticent about releasing information.

The article reports on the acquisition of LensCrafters Inc. by Luxottica Group SpA, a maker and retailer of eyewear in Milan, Italy. The 2,200-square-foot LensCrafters store in New York was reintroduced with a new look featuring dark wood and blacklit displays of affordable eyewear. Luxottica plans to make its global dominance by engaging into different consolidations and mergers around the world.

The article reports on the growth strategies and business operations of the U.S.-based department store chain Nordstrom citing the retirement of Bruce A. Nordstrom and the appointment of Blake W. Nordstrom to replace him as chief executive. It has taken over a former Macy's store and doubled its size with a second story. It is set to focus on multichannel retailing in the coming years.