Friday, June 03, 2005

stories from the annex

aka: race relations, growing up (kids and Wal-Mart), new retail development and paying at 'The Pig'


Piggly Wiggly lets customers pay with their fingers
Wednesday, shoppers enrolled in a new biometric system which will allow them to pay for groceries with a touch of her index finger at Piggly Wiggly in Florence, SC.

Developer will keep Columbia properties
Much of downtown Columbia, MD will remain in the hands of the Chicago-based mall developer that acquired several large downtown properties when it purchased The Rouse Co. last fall, an official of General Growth Properties Inc. said this week.

Shoemakers try synergy on for size
Stride Rite Corp. of Lexington, MA, a powerhouse shoe company before stumbling a decade ago, yesterday agreed to acquire Saucony Inc. for $170 million as a way to add an athletic footwear line to a product roster that includes its namesake children's shoes, Keds, Sperry Top-Sider, and Tommy Hilfiger.

The Empire Strikes Back
Wal-Mart's empire army rolls on, shrugging off every zoning challenge, community attack, court ruling, labor union assault and Jedi insurrection. And soon, it will launch its much-anticipated entrance into the fashion world.


SAKS SALE A BOON FOR BELK IN SOUTHEAST
Saks Inc.’s decision to refocus its business on high-end retailing opened a door of opportunity for mid-range department store chain Belk.

Stonecrest soon to be more than a mall
Atlanta area regional mall The Mall at Stonecrest continues to generate economic steam on several fronts, with construction proceeding on homes, offices, stores, restaurants and hotels.

A Wondrous Transformation
With high school graduation rapidly approaching for his son, a father is determined to cling to these rapidly fading moments when his son is no longer a boy, and almost a man.


Black Athletes … White Women (Re-visited)
Since the first Africans arrived in the New World in 1502, it seems Black athletes have been able to dodge the overt hatred of a society because of athletic prowess. However throughout American history, one constant indicator of the unequal status of Blacks has been the taboo against interracial sexual contact and legal prohibition of interracial marriage.


Uninspiring stock, service plague retail giant Wal-Mart
The world's largest retailer, which only a few years ago could do no wrong, is now suffering from the kind of problems that have plagued weaker rivals like Kmart: cluttered stores, merchandise that turned off shoppers, and poor service. Meanwhile, Target Corp., while some six times smaller than Wal-Mart, is setting a new standard for discount retailing.


Ballantyne going up
With deals just inked with high-profile tenants such as Jesse Brown's Outdoors, Modern Salon and restaurateur Alex Myrick, developer George Sheild finally can call his Ballantyne Village project, just outside Charlotte, NC, a success.

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