Finance & Capital Management

Plano, Texas -– Amid restrained consumer spending and warmer weather that dulled sales of seasonal merchandise, JCPenney Co. Inc. managed to shrink its third quarter net loss more than Wall Street expected in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, but missed projections with weaker-than-expected net sales.  

Veteran apparel merchant Celia Clancy spent time at Bradlees, Walmart and TJX Companies. Now she is the newest member of struggling specialty retailer Body Central’s board of directors.

Manhattan Beach, Calif. -- Skechers is celebrating the opening of its 1,000th retail store. The company, which operates in more than 75 countries, hit the milestone mark with the opening of a new store in Mexico City on Wednesday, preceded by an additional store opening in Mexico earlier this week and two in California last week.  

Cincinnati -- Phillips Edison-ARC Grocery Center REIT II Inc. has acquired Laguna 99 Plaza, adding another property in California to the company's portfolio. Laguna 99 Plaza is an 89,188-sq.-ft.grocery store-anchored shopping center located in Elk Grove, California, part of the Sacramento metropolitan statistical area.    Laguna 99 Plaza is anchored by Walmart Neighborhood Market. Other national and regional tenants at the center include GNC, Metro PCS, and Goodwill. 

Hangzhou, China -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which previously said it is in discussions with Apple about working with its Apple Pay digital payment service, is now reportedly also open to working with EBay’s PayPal digital payment service.  

The retail inventory specialist firm WIS International named merchandising and marketing services veteran Jim Rose as its new president and CEO.

Rose most recently served as president of marketing services at CROSSMARK, a leading provider of marketing and merchandising services. Rose also previously served as chairman and CEO for Mosaic Sales Solutions and also held senior roles at The Nielsen Company and MPG, a global advertising and communications company.

Alexandria, Va. — Declining gas prices may increase holiday spending this year—especially among men and those ages 18-34, according to a new national survey on consumer optimism conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).  

New York City -- Chelsea Bagel, operating on West 14th Street for the past five years, has leased its second Manhattan location.