Finance & Capital Management

Seattle -- Nordstrom plans to open a third Houston-area Nordstrom Rack location. The approximately 38,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2014, at Willowbrook Mall is owned and managed by General Growth Properties  

"We've been looking for opportunities to better serve Houston customers as we continue to grow," said Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 2.9% to $202.1 million. Same-store sales for the period ended June 30 increased 4.6%.  

The discounter Tuesday Morning Corp. said traffic climbed 6.2%. The average receipt fell 1.6%.

The retailer's full-year revenue was up 3% to $838.3 million from $812.8 million. Same-store sales rose 3.9%.  
 

Los Angeles -- For the second consecutive quarter, the retail availability rate has fallen 30 basis points, according to the latest analysis from CBRE Group. The rate now stands at 12.2% and testifies to improved retailer confidence as consumer spending continues to rebound.

The availability rate tracks space that is actively being marketed and available for tenant build-out within 12 months.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma has hired David Jimenez, former VP of visual store design and merchandising for Hallmark, as senior VP of visual store and experience. Prior to Hallmark, David worked at national retailers including Gap Inc., Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn.

West Bridgewater, Mass. -- Shaw’s plans to close six stores operating under its namesake banner by Aug. 3. The locations targeted for shuttering include four stores in the Massachusetts towns of Fall River, Fairhaven, Stoughton, and Taunton and two stores in the Rhode Island towns of Westerly and Woonsocket.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. has reached an agreement to purchase all outstanding shares of Harris Teeter Supermarkets for $49.38 per share in cash, or about $2.5 billion. Kroger will finance the transaction with debt and also assume about $100 million of debt from Harris Teeter.

Harris Teeter operates 212 stores in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Delaware, Florida, Georgia and the District of Columbia primarily in the Carolinas. The company had revenues of approximately $4.5 billion for fiscal year 2012.

By Christopher Demetriades, [email protected]

New Orleans -- Smoothie King Franchises is targeting the Jacksonville, Fla., metro area to kick off a major expansion calling for 1,000 new franchised and corporate locations over the next five years.

With seven stores in Jacksonville, the company plans to add 10 new locations there over the next three years.

To fuel the national expansion drive, Smoothie King is offering candidates 40% off of its initial franchise fee for the first 40 agreements of 2013 — a savings of $10,000.

New York -- Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch has resigned, effective immediately. The company said it has appointed Michael P. Huseby as CEO of Nook Media and president of Barnes & Noble. He had served as the company’s CFO since 2012.

Lynch, a technology veteran, took the reins of Barnes & Noble in 2010, and was a driving force in the chain's transition into digital and the expansion of its Nook line of tablets. No reason was given for his departure. 

CINCINNATI and MATTHEWS, N.C. — Kroger, already one of the world’s largest retailers, is about to get even larger. The company plans to purchase all outstanding shares of Harris Teeter Supermarkets for $49.38 per share in cash. 

The merger agreement not only allows Kroger to expand its brands portfolio but also allows it to expand its market with a complementary base of 212 stores, of which 147 have pharmacies, in Southeastern and mid-Atlantic markets and in Washington, D.C.