Retail briefs

Home Depot last week reaffirmed its targeted growth of 200 new locations by the end of its fiscal year on the heels of the opening of its 1,500th store. The new location is in Abilene, TX, and represents the company's 117th location in the state.

Looking to boost holiday sales from last-minute shoppers, Kmart will open its doors for 110 consecutive hours just prior to Christmas. From 6 a.m. on Dec. 20 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 24, consumers will be able to visit the discounter. Kmart and Kmart SuperCenters will be closed on Christmas Day and will reopen at 6 a.m. on Dec. 26. The company also announced that it has delayed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the filing date of its Form 10-Q quarterly report for the 13- and 39-week periods ended Oct. 30.

The much anticipated entry of Kohl's Department Stores into the California market this spring will result in some 4,200 new jobs for Southern California, according to the company. With 28 stores slated to open in five Southern California counties, the retailer has activated a 24-hour job hotline and will open recruiting centers for each of the locations.

Holiday shopping gained momentum during the third week of the Holiday season as U.S retail sales grew by 12.2 percent against the prior week, according to ShopperTrak RCT's National Retail Sales Estimate. In contrast to the second week of the Holiday season, which was impacted by bad weather, retailers posted the highest sales volume of the season with $118.7 billion during the week ended Dec. 14.

Online retailers aren't immune to the bargain hunting that's been so prevalent among cost-conscious consumers throughout the past year, according to a BizRate.com study on Holiday shopping. The study took the results of 4,299 online buyers during the period of Dec. 4 to Dec. 9, the busiest Holiday shopping period, and found that 54 percent of Web shoppers are more "deal-centric" than last year. Only 3 percent are less focused on finding deals.