Discount store and superstore operators
This Thursday, May 27, 2021, photo shows the closed Sears in Buena Park Mall in Buena Park, Calif. California state lawmakers are grappling with a particularly 21st-century problem: What to do with the growing number of shopping malls and big-box retail stores left empty by consumers shifting their purchases to the web. A possible answer in crowded California cities is to build housing on these sites, which already have ample parking and are close to existing neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
California eyes shuttered malls, stores for new housing

By Adam Beam May. 31, 2021 04:53 PM EDT

This photo provided by Target shows Levi Strauss & Co. home collection on display at Target. The Jeans maker is deepening its partnership with Target Corp. by launching its first-ever home collection at the discount chain. Levi's limited time only 100-item collection of denim-inspired tableware, quilts, pillows and other items will hit Target stores on Feb. 28, 2021. (Target via AP)
Levi's first home collection deepens Target relationship

By Anne D'innocenzio Jan. 26, 2021 02:02 PM EST

A sign advises holiday shoppers of social distancing to battle the spread of the coronavirus Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, in Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree, Colo. After a weak start to the holiday season for many mall-based retailers, the strugglers are making their final push in the final days before and the week after Christmas. Many are stepping up discounts while heavily promoting curbside pickup as a way to get shoppers, worried about being infected with the virus, to visit their stores. But experts believe that any burst of sales will be too little and too late to save some stores. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The holidays could make or break struggling stores

By Anne D'innocenzio Dec. 21, 2020 02:56 PM EST

Teo Perez, from left, works in the kitchen with Jorge Morales and Jaime Hernandez at Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. In pre-pandemic days, Brenda's French Soul Food was always hopping, but everything came to a screeching halt on March 16, when San Francisco halted indoor dining to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It reopened for takeout and delivery, and Chef Proprieter Brenda Buenviaje is now shipping meals nationwide through a service called Goldbelly. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
From restaurants to retailers, virus transformed economies

By Paul Wiseman And Alexandra Olson Dec. 16, 2020 11:02 AM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2019 file photo, the Best Buy logo is shown on a store in Richfield, Minn. On Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, Best Buy Co. reported fiscal third-quarter results that blew through analysts’ expectations as the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer saw surging demand for items like home theater and appliances that help people learn, cook, work and connect in their homes during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Best Buy reports 3Q results that exceed Wall Street views

By Anne D'innocenzio Nov. 24, 2020 11:41 AM EST

Wind-surfers glide on Lake Ontario at Cherry Beach on a warm fall day during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto goes back into lockdown because of a surge in cases

By Rob Gillies Nov. 20, 2020 04:26 PM EST

A waiter carriers a check to a patron seated in a tent in the parking lot of Clafoutis restaurant on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The tent was rented after indoor seating was banned due to COVID-19, leaving only a handful of patio tables available. Patrons still pick up to-go orders inside. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)
Governor calls on Legislature to approve pandemic relief

By Cedar Attanasio Nov. 19, 2020 05:22 PM EST

FILE - In this April 6, 2020 file photo, a customer wearing a mask carries his purchases as he leaves a Target store during the coronavirus pandemic, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Target is the latest big U.S. retailer to show that it's prospering during the pandemic. The Minneapolis company reported Wednesday, Nov. 18 that its online sales surged 155% in the three months that ended Oct. 31. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Target gains steam heading into crucial holiday season

By Anne D'innocenzio Nov. 18, 2020 06:38 AM EST

New Mexico begins lockdown as state looks to curb spread

Nov. 16, 2020 10:58 AM EST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico on Monday started its lockdown as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and hospital administrators look to curb COVID-19 infections....

The logo of a Miniso shop is seen at a shopping mall in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Miniso, a Chinese discount retailer known for its fashionable but affordable household products, is expected to raise up to $562 million in a U.S. initial public offering in New York. The Guangzhou-based retailer is the latest Chinese company to list in the U.S., amid tensions that have taken U.S.-China relations to their worst level in decades. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Shares of Chinese retailer Miniso rise in Wall Street debut

By Zen Soo Oct. 15, 2020 08:22 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020 file photo, people walk through the parking lot at a Target store in Oklahoma City. Target has reported that its sales as measured by a key metric registered their strongest performance to date for the company’s fiscal second quarter. It's the latest evidence that big-box stores are becoming consumers' prime shopping destinations during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Target sales surge as Americans lean on big box stores

By Anne D'innocenzio Aug. 19, 2020 06:49 AM EDT

A staff member talks to a reporter front giant statue of the Thai spiritual figure Nagkwank dressed in a face mask at the Siam Museum in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 29, 2020. Nagkwank is a benevolent spirit who is deemed to bring luck and prosperity. She is the patron deity of all merchants and salesmen and can be seen in very many business establishments in Thailand. Thai authorities allowed museum and other businesses to reopen, selectively easing restrictions against the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Nations ease more restrictions, air travel opening up more

May. 29, 2020 09:58 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 30, 2020 file photo, bicyclists pass in front of a closed Macy's department store in Santa Ana, Calif. The future of the post-pandemic retail economy in the U.S. looks boxy and digital. The pandemic has divided potential winners and losers from the economic shock, with Wall Street looking more favorably at e-commerce retailers and companies with well-established online sales. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
Target, Walmart outbox department stores in reshaped world

By Damian J. Troise May. 28, 2020 11:49 AM EDT

People holding Spanish flags protest against the Spanish government amid the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Alcorcon, Spain, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The regional authority of Madrid is appealing to Spain's Supreme Court over the Spanish government's refusal to ease its lockdown. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Retailers reopening more stores, tourism expanding

May. 21, 2020 10:04 AM EDT

Big box rules: big retailers like Target thrive in outbreak

By Anne D'innocenzio May. 20, 2020 06:46 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Online sales at Target more than doubled as the pandemic put millions in lockdown during the first quarter, revealing further the critical role...

Police enforce the curfew declared by the government due to the new coronavirus pandemic, in El Callao, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd).
Crime drops around the world as COVID-19 keeps people inside

By Stefanie Dazio, Franklin Briceno And Michael Tarm Apr. 11, 2020 12:28 AM EDT