Tracy Davidson

Wal-Mart is desperate to revive its flailing U.S. sales. During an investor conference in New York Thursday, the company said it plans to open hundreds of smaller-format stores over the next three years. Bill Simon, Wal-Mart’s U.S. chief, also said during the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch conference that the company rename its Neighborhood Market stores, “Walmart [...]

Borders is planning liquidation sales in the 200 stores it is shutting down as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. “There will be opportunities for liquidation-type sales,” said Borders spokesman Donald Cutler on Thursday. “Specifications about them will be revealed in the coming days and weeks.” Borders, the second-largest book retailer behind Barnes & [...]

Neither snow nor sleet kept shoppers from the post-holiday clearance sales, to the surprise of U.S. retailers. Merchants posted better-than-expected January sales results despite record snowfalls and icy weather that had caused several analysts to significantly lower their sales forecasts for the month. Major retailers’ comparable sales (for stores open at least a year) were [...]

Stores feature great bargains as a way to entice shoppers to clean out their stores to make room for spring and summer merchandise, said Daniel Butler of the National Retail Federation. “Also, as people put the ornaments away, they tend to get into spring cleaning mode early and want to freshen the house,” Butler said. [...]

Homebuyers are rushing to complete their purchases before the tax credit for first-time buyers expires. According to economists polled by Thomas Reuters, a report Friday is expected to reveal an almost 5% increase in September, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million, up from 5.1 million in August. If the report is as [...]