Retailers

Hundreds of Baltimore-area shoppers packed into the newly reopened Boscov's on Friday morning, welcoming back the department store as if they were greeting an old friend. "We're so glad you're back," customer after customer told store employees and Boscov family members on hand for the retailer's reopening at White Marsh Mall. The nearly 200,000-square-foot store opened in the same anchor spot the chain vacated four years ago amid the recession. The newly remodeled and restocked Boscov's drew hordes of shoppers Friday, all of whom had bought $5 tickets for the preview day. Proceeds went to local causes.

Nobody asked me but . . . I was worried about Pat McDonough, the Republican state delegate who represents parts of Harford and Baltimore counties. We hadn't heard from him all week. This was really odd. Usually, when there is mob violence in our community, Pat speaks up. He is our Mobtown Herald. He issues dire alerts and hyperbolic warnings to the news media. He suggests that the local police are incompetent or overmatched. He calls for the Maryland National Guard.

Halloween has become a holiday for the masses, retailers are happy to say, with more Americans than ever planning this year to decorate homes, dress up, attend or throw a party or take kids trick or treating. A consumer spending survey done for the National Retail Federation shows a record 170 million people, seven in 10 Americans, plan to celebrate in some way. The average consumer will spend nearly $80 on decorations, costumes and candy, bumping up total Halloween spending this year to $8 billion, the trade group's survey shows.

In years past, Nathaniel Scroggins spent late August and early September finding ways to de-emphasize the Orioles gear at the Sport Shop store in Harborplace. Whatever was left from summer got tucked into one corner, while Ravens gear swarmed the space. Last Friday, though, the store manager stood in the central aisle, flanked by orange on one side and black on the other. "It's a totally different feeling this year," Scroggins said. Nationwide, sales of Orioles merchandise increased 278 percent year-over-year for a period of four weeks spanning late August and early September, according to an analysis by SportsOneSource, a research firm focused on the sporting goods industry.

For some tips on fall clothing deals, check out ShopSmart magazine's October issue. The Consumer Reports publication will feature a "Six Steps to Score Big Savings on Clothes," guide, the non-profit product testing organization said. "This issue of ShopSmart will help you make sure you're working all of the angles to save on clothes," Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart, said in a release. "Even if you think you know all the tricks, you need to read this just to make sure you're not missing out on any discounts.

For all you ladies who feel like clothing is designed to fit anyone but you, you are not alone. Two thirds of females in a survey out this month classify themselves as wearing "special sized" clothing. " One-third of these women say they are "plus size," which also happens to be the highest represented size group among special size women. Those results come from market research company The NPD Group Inc., which released its Women Special Sizes report last week. The study used a representative sample of females age 13 and older.

A Walmart Supercenter is scheduled to open Oct. 17 on Liberty Road in Randallstown, and Baltimore County officials hope it will give a boost to a corridor targeted for revitalization. County officials and community leaders expect that the store at Liberty Plaza will attract attention from other major chains to the area. Consumers in Randallstown have high levels of education and income, they say, but the area has struggled to draw national retailers and restaurants. Residents complain that there are too many fast-food restaurants and low-quality stores.

Bernard J. "B.J. " Land, a Coca-Cola executive and physical fitness buff who coached youth soccer and lacrosse teams, died Monday of a cardiac arrest at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Hunt Valley resident had recently celebrated his 53rd birthday. Family members said that Mr. Land, who was known as "B.J.," had returned Sept. 2 after a long bike ride and suffered a cardiac arrest that was caused by coronary artery disease, which he was unaware that he suffered from. He remained in a coma until his death.

The company redeveloping the former Solo Cup site in Owings Mills has made overtures to the owners of the Owings Mills Mall about purchasing that property, its CEO said Thursday. Leaders of Greenberg Gibbons, which is preparing to tear down the old Solo Cup plant to build the Foundry Row retail center on Reisterstown Road, "are big believers in the Owings Mills market and would love to do Foundry Row and the mall," chairman and CEO Brian Gibbons said. "We've reached out" to the mall owners, said Gibbons, whose company is based in Owings Mills.

Many in Baltimore County and elsewhere are no doubt bewildered by all the fuss that was raised in recent months over the redevelopment of the former Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills into an upscale development featuring a Wegmans supermarket. If you're going to build a shopping center (and built-up Reisterstown Road is no stranger to them) isn't this what you'd want? But alas, the proposal proved as contentious and fraught with political intrigue as any county land use decision in recent memory.