Jenny Kincaid Boone covers retail and real estate.

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@roanoke.com
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Jenny Kincaid Boone

Retail Roundup columns

• Readers, thanks for your support
• Bastians Bar-B-Q to reopen
• Woolworth's space is being renovated in downtown Roanoke

The Storefront blog

• More from Jenny's blog

If you're shopping at Valley View Mall and you have an AT&T smart phone, your options for surfing the Internet, e-mailing photos or downloading a song recently became easier.

As part of a nationwide push to ease traffic on its network in selected locations, AT&T has installed a new antenna system inside Roanoke's Valley View Mall. The system is meant to widen the network's coverage throughout the mall property.

AT&T, the U.S. carrier of the iPhone, has been trying to improve the workings of its mobile broadband coverage and cut through heavy traffic as a result of the popularity of its smart phones. Apple's new iPhone 4 launched last week.

The upgrades at Valley View and across the country offer customers faster wireless speed and reliability, said AT&T spokeswoman Ellen Webner.

AT&T is choosing sites for its new system where customer traffic is heaviest, including at other Virginia shopping centers.

From the Storefront blog:

A country-themed gift shop and collectibles store moved out of Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County and relocated to Christiansburg this month.

Cozy Corners opened June 15 in the former space of Hibbett Sports in the New River Valley Mall.

The store has had a long history at Tanglewood, where it opened in 1998. But owner Denise Jones said she closed Cozy Corners, because "the traffic was terrible" at Tanglewood, and the mall "had just lost so many tenants."

She tested the Christiansburg market in December when she opened a temporary store at the New River Valley Mall during the holiday season. She said she's been pleased with the busyness of the New River Valley Mall.

Calling fans of the outdoors

Hunters, fishers and campers may want to check out a new Roanoke County store.

Sportmans Liquidation has moved into a space beside Texas Steakhouse on Electric Road in the Madison Square Shopping Center. The store sells overstock hunting, fishing and camping clothing and gear, such as tents, fishing poles and insulated boots.

Sportsmans Liquidation got its start as an online business, said store manager Tom Jones. Now, it is opening brick-and-mortar stores in several states, including Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. Individual franchisees own some stores.

Save early for the holidays

It's not even six months until Christmas, but Toys "R" Us just began offering consumers a way to start saving for the holidays.

So, if this large toy chain and its baby counterpart (Babies "R" Us) command the bulk of your holiday shopping budget each year, you may want to consider a new Christmas Savers Club that the retailer began marketing this month.

Through October, Toys "R" Us will offer customers the opportunity to log money onto a card that resembles a gift card. Toys "R" Us said it will add 3 percent interest to the balance of each card on Oct. 16. The money cannot be redeemed until after Oct. 31.

You can add funds to these cards at Toys "R" Us store registers.

Keep in mind that you must spend all of the money at Toys "R" Us or Babies "R" Us stores.

Some retail analysts compare this new savings plan to the rollout of layaway programs at various retailers. Layaway allows consumers to pay for purchases in increments over time.

Check out more retail news at the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront/.