Finance & Capital Management

Atlanta -- Rent-to-own chain Aaron's, Inc. has named its current CFO Gilbert L. Danielson to the position of interim chief executive officer, following the retirement of current CEO Ronald W. Allen on Aug. 31.

Danielson will also retain his CFO responsibilities during the interim period and will not be a candidate for the permanent CEO role, said the company. A formal search, led by Spencer Stuart, is underway and includes a review of both internal and external candidates.
 

Orlando, Fla. -- JLL’s Capital Markets experts announced the firm has closed the sale of Lake Washington Crossing on behalf of WSRI-SRP Lake Washington, LLC.

Baltimore-based Philips Edison Group, LLC, purchased the 118,698-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored shopping center, located near Florida’s ocean coast, in the town of Melbourne.

Managing Directors Kris Cooper, Margaret Caldwell and Carson Good led the JLL team on the transaction.

Seattle -- Seattle-based architecture and design firm Callison said it will be acquired by Arcadis, a global design consultancy firm based in the Netherlands.

The transaction is slated to be completed in the third quarter of 2014. Arcadis also owns architectural design firm RTKL, built asset consultancy firm EC Harris, and Asian construction program planning and value management consultancy Langdon & Seah.

Houston -- Stage Stores, Inc. reported net income of $11.2 million for the second quarter, compared with $9.6 million last year.

Total sales were $377 million. Same-store sales decreased 4.2%.

“We found the second quarter to be challenging, but we were encouraged that our sales trend improved towards the end of the quarter,” said Michael Glazer, CEO. “We expect improved second half results given our sales driving initiatives.”

Secaucus, N.J. -- The Children's Place, Inc. reported a loss of $10.7 million in the quarter ended Aug. 2, compared to a loss of $23.6 million in the year-ago period. Sales edged up to $384.6 million, from $382.4 million for second quarter 2013.

Same-store sales increased 0.8%.

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop Corp. on Thursday reported a second-quarter profit of $24.6 million, up from $10.5 million in the year ago period.

Revenue rose 25% to a better-than-expected $1.73 billion, helped by new game releases as well as solid sales of gaming hardware.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. on Thursday reported a bigger-than-expected loss in its second quarter – the retailer’s ninth consecutive quarterly loss – amid weak sales. The retailer also announced it may close additional stores on top of the 130 closures already underway this year.

Sears also said Thursday the company plans to explore options with lenders to achieve more long-term capital-structure flexibility in the coming six to 12 months.

New York -- Christopher Finazzo, former executive VP and chief merchandising officer for Aeropostale, has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of defrauding the company and taking more than $25 million in kickbacks from a key vendor.

Finazzo, who was found guilty in April 2013 of 14 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, was also ordered to forfeit more than $25 million and pay the company $13.7 million in restitution.