Retail

Costco is selling Picasso. The retailer has been selling fine art prints for most of its 22 years and more recently has pushed original art and special events. Picasso's Atilier De Cannes is for sale at Costco.com for about $130,000; the retailer sold a print of one of his paintings for $10,000 in 2002 and in November it sold an original Picasso drawing for $35,000 and another in January for $40,000. Costco also is selling three originals from Marc Chagall.

Federated Department Stores will add about 330 Macy's locations nationwide in 2006 as it converts regional department store nameplates to be acquired through its merger with May Department Stores. The following stores will be renamed Macy's in fall 2006: Famous-Barr in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri; Filene's in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont; Foley's in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas; Hecht's in Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and the District of Columbia; The Jones Stores in Kansas and Missouri; Kaufmann's in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, L.S. Ayres in Indiana; Meier & Frank in Oregon, Utah and Washington; Robinsons-May in Arizona, California and Nevada, and Strawbridge's in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A decision regarding the Marshall Field's name has not yet been made. Lord & Taylor will not be converted to Macy's.

Breuners Arizona has been named the exclusive furniture partner for ABC 15 Sonoran Living TV show. Recently, the Breuners design team did a makeover on the set. Breuners' buyer Jami Myers will be featured on the morning show twice a month giving design tips and trend information both from the studio and live from a Breuners store.

Nebraska Furniture Mart is expanding its Kansas City campus warehouse by 360,000 square feet. The company breaks ground next month and expects to complete the job by fall 2006. The warehouse, which will grow to 622,000 square feet, will accommodate storage for the site's adjacent 450,000-sq.-ft. store. Nebraska Furniture Mart sells furniture, flooring, appliances and electronics also owns and operates two other sites. When completed, the retailer will have 1.2 million square feet in Kansas City.

W.S. Badcock plans to open up to nine stores in North Carolina in the next three years. The retailer entered the Triad area, which includes Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point, last year with the opening of a distribution center. The stores will vary in size, but average around 20,000 square feet. The stores will be Badcock & More stores, a concept the retailer rolled out in 2000. Most of the company's stores are owned by dealer partners, setup similar to a franchise.

Design Within Reach, which sells through its Web site, catalog and 51 studio locations, will introduce sheets, blankets and bedding accessories this fall to its lineup of modern furniture and accessories. Karen John, who recently was named director of product development for the retailer, oversaw the R&D for the bedding line. DWR also will launch a modern recliner designer by Jeffrey Bernett, illustrating the company's innovative approach to product development by collaborating with outside designers and manufacturers.