Supermarket chain Aldi said it would step up its pace of new store development in the U.S., with a goal of 650 new stores in the next five years. Plans call for the discounter to open approximately 130 new stores per year, representing an increase of 62.5% from its 80-store pace of recent years and an overall store count growth of 50% by 2018. There will be a Southern California warehouse and headquarters in Moreno Valley, Calif. Aldi had confirmed earlier this year that the company would seek to expand in California

RadioShack has opened its newest Manhattan location as a pop-up concept store at Penn Station. The limited-time-only location is the third RadioShack pop-up store to open in Manhattan. The company has opened a total of eight concept stores in the Manhattan area. The newest pop-up opened five days after construction began.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store reversed course Sunday, putting back on its shelves the products it had removed because they were tied to a star of the "Duck Dynasty." In a statement on its Facebook page, Cracker Barrel said, "When we made the decision to remove and evaluate certain Duck Dynasty items, we offended many of our loyal customers. Our intent was to avoid offending, but that's just what we've done."

After having had its huge credit-card security breach, Target offered a 10% discount Saturday and Sunday in its U.S. stores at the height of the holiday rush. In addition, the company says it is going to offer free credit monitoring to customers who could be at risk from the breach. Also, the nation's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, said that it was putting limits on about 2 million debit cards used at Target during the period in which the fraud was perpetrated.

Eleven convenience-store retail chains landed on the Forbes 2013 list of America's largest private companies. Overall, 224 companies made the list, up from 220 last year. The companies have combined revenues of $1.61 trillion, an 8% increase over the previous year, according to the magazine. Two convenience industry chains, Pilot Flying J and Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores made the top 10, coming in at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively.

Studies show consumers feel a mild to extreme negativity to ads. So what would a world without ads be like? "Consumers and customers will be empowered to make their own choices without being manipulated by unnecessary ads. Your mobile will no longer have any display ads, and your laptop screens can be crystal clear: no more buzzing images, no more suggestions, no more desperately shaking," writes brand strategist Tom J. Hidvegi.

Volkswagen will advertise in the Super Bowl for the fifth consecutive year. The company saw volume drop 5.2% for the first 11 months this year vs. one year ago, so the company will likely want to see some hard ROI. "VW relies too much on entertainment and not enough on brand engagement," says Robert Passikoff, founder of Brand Keys. The firm's 2013 consumer survey ranks VW way down at 18th place among 20 automakers that sell in the U.S., in terms of brand engagement.

With the upcoming start of production at its new plant in Celaya, Mexico, Honda expects that as much as 90% of the vehicles it sells in North America will soon be produced locally. And it's not alone. Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen are steadily expanding their own production bases in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, ramping up regional production just three decades after Honda opened the first Asian-owned "transplant" assembly line in Marysville, Ohio. In fact, a new study says foreign makers will account for well over half of all added vehicle production in North America by the end of the decade.

A court in southern China's Guangdong Province has ruled that Jiaduobao Group (JDB), a Hong Kong-based beverage manufacturer, must compensate Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holding Limited (GPH) for false advertising. JDB must pay a total of 10.81 million yuan (about $1.78 U.S.) to GPH, best known for manufacturing Wong Lo Kat herbal tea, and stop using false slogans.

Aldi plans to open 50% more stores in the U.S. over the next five years, seeking to become the country's biggest discount supermarket chain by store count. The chain, which is based in Germany, has prospered in recent years by selling low-cost food and other grocery items, mostly under its own labels, in clean, uncluttered stores. It currently has nearly 1,300 locations here, mostly in the Midwest and East.