Finance & Capital Management

Woonsocket, R.I. – Net income at CVS Caremark Corp. increased 18.3% to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, compared with approximately $1 billion a year earlier. Pharmacy services and retail pharmacy segments both benefited from the impact of increased generic drugs dispensed and slower growth in expenses.

Mid-America celebrates 30 years in the retail real estate information business

Mike George likes to say that his company is in the retail real estate information business. “Our clients buy, sell and lease retail real estate,” said George, principal and president of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.- based Mid-America Real Estate Group. “Clients that buy and sell real estate rely on us for information that helps them make the best business decisions. When clients hire us to manage and lease shopping centers, they want our information-based decisions.”

Smart retailers can succeed in a tight real estate market with limited capital

Even as the economy continues on a path of slow improvement, brick-and-mortar retailers still find themselves in a real estate market with few vacancies and even fewer new malls under construction. In addition, corporate management remains reluctant to expend any more capital than it feels is absolutely necessary to meet immediate needs.

Dick’s Sporting Goods opened its Field & Stream prototype store last summer and next month the first of eight stores planned for 2014 arrives on the shores of Lake Erie.

The northwestern Pennsylvania community will be home to Dick’s third Field & Stream store with an opening set for June 13. Dick’s began experimenting with the potential new growth format last August when it opened its first location near its home town of Pittsburgh in the suburb of Cranberry Township. A second location opened later in 2013 in Crescent Springs, Ky.

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology is in the midst of a dramatic evolution brought on by a variety of factors, including regulations, retailers’ needs for technological sophistication, operational and cost efficiency, and ease of implementation and use. These and other topics were discussed in the SPECS session, “Evolution, Revolution: The Future of HVAC and Refrigeration.”

Session moderator Bob Keingstein, president of Boss Facility Services, asked panelists to discuss several pointed questions focused on different key areas of the evolution of HVAC.

New York -- Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday unveiled a plan to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15. Although Murray said the hike has broad support across local government, business and labor communities, the City Council still has to vote on the proposal.
 
Under Murray’s plan, businesses with fewer than 500 employees would have seven years to comply and larger businesses would have three years. Further increases would be tied to inflation.
   

Lakewood, Colo. – Net income climbed 24.3% at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, rising to $4 million from $3.21 million in the same quarter the prior fiscal year. For the remainder of the current fiscal year, Natural Grocers plans to open six new stores and remodel one.

Phillips Edison is transforming The Kenwood Collection. The Kenwood Collection is returning the favor.

Phillips Edison & Company has grown by acquiring troubled shopping centers in good locations, redeveloping and improving the tenant mix. Over the years, the company has continued to optimize retail property value with its complete operating platform providing a diverse range of retail solutions. Today, the Phillips Edison portfolio contains more than 260 shopping centers across the country.