No longer dusty, out-of-the-way haunts, dollar stores have grown into a $56 billion industry, a 43 percent increase since 1998, according to the industry research firm IBISWorld.
Two-thirds of the groceries in a Bottom Dollar Food store are national brands. Think Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Lay's potato chips and Van de Kamp's frozen fish.
The judge in the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case on Tuesday approved a $750 million exit financing plan for the supermarket operator. 
Supervalu Inc. said Tuesday that chief marketing officer Julie Dexter Berg has left the struggling company after less than two years on the job.
J.C. Penney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40 percent so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in its stores.
The opportunity couldn't be "hotter" for better burger chains, if 2011 is any indication. This past year continued to see rapid growth, particularly for fast casual better burger chains. And data for 2010 shows the fast casual chains in this segment posted sales increases of more than 16 percent and unit growth of nearly 17 percent. b.good is one such chain, spanning eight units across metro-Boston.
Women’s apparel chain Talbots Inc has started an auction to sell itself, two people familiar with the matter said and its shares rose as much as 22 percent.
Former Apple exec Ron Johnson — who on Wednesday is slated to unveil a top-secret strategy for a dramatic overhaul of the aging department store — has begun the new year by slashing thousands of jobs nationwide, The Post has learned.
After experimenting with alcohol sales at six West Coast stores, the world’s largest coffee-shop chain said yesterday that it will sell beer and wine in as many as 25 locations by the end of the year. Starbucks, which has 10,700 U.S. cafes, will also sell fruit-and-cheese plates and focaccia with olive oil.
Hudson’s Bay Co. has completed the acquisition of Lord & Taylor, according to a report by Women’s Wear Daily. 
Family Dollar plans to continue aggressive growth in the current fiscal year, with 450 to 500 new stores on tap.
Discount retailer Costco Wholesale is making greater inroads into the Washington area with plans for a new store on a 12-acre tract in Alexandria, one of three locations in the works in the region.
Traffic, retail demand among concerns raised by competing developers
In one of the starkest signs yet that chain stores fear a new twist in shopping, Target is asking suppliers for help in thwarting "showrooming"—that is, when shoppers come into a store to see a product in person, only to buy it from a rival online, frequently at a lower price.
By summer, patrons of Seabrook's South Gate Plaza on Route 1 will find a larger shopping center with six or more new stores anchored by an expanded Market Basket that features a small cafe. 
Gap Inc. says the president of its Old Navy brand has resigned, but the company also has secured a former merchandising employee to serve as a consultant to its struggling namesake brand.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says Sam's Club President and CEO Brian Cornell is leaving the company so he can return to the Northeast for family reasons.
Gap Inc.’s Athleta athletic apparel line for women plans to open stores in Chicago, Boston, Houston and Denver in 2012, Scott Key, senior vice president and general manager, said today in a telephone interview. 
Planet Fitness, the national gym partner for NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” opened its 500th location in Morton Grove, Ill., on Wednesday as the franchise company continues its expansion, which includes the goal to add more than 100 new facilities in 2012.
