Finance & Capital Management

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group said Wednesday it has acquired Paragon Outlets Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Paragon Outlets Livermore Valley in Livermore, Calif.

Simon now owns 100% of each asset.

The 417,000-sq.-ft. Grand Prairie center is tenanted by Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store, Coach, Cole Haan, DKNY, Hugo Boss, Kate Spade New York, J.Crew, Michael Kors, Nike and Tommy Hilfiger. The center opened in August 2012 and is 100% leased.

Ridgefield, Conn. -- Schimenti Construction announced it has completed an expansion of its company headquarters in Ridgefield, Conn., doubling the size of the space from 10,000 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft.

The expansion also includes a redesign of the main floor with the creation of a new reception area. A new executive conference room has been added on the first floor, as well as new waiting areas on both floors. A training space has been incorporated into the new design and a new employee café features a Starbucks coffee bar.

London -- Tesco CEO Philip Clarke announced Wednesday that the British supermarket retailer will likely sell or close its entire U.S. presence, which means that 199 Fresh & Easy stores could be shuttered or sold off.

According to multiple reports, Tesco is close to making the decision after five unprofitable years in the U.S. The retailer launched the concept in 2007, confident there was a niche for a grocery store with fresh food offerings formatted in a unique footprint that was smaller than a typical supermarket but larger than a c-store.

The addition of 27 new stores wasn’t enough to prevent Big Lots from reporting a 1.9% sales decline during the quarter ended October 27.

ATLANTA — Home Depot has added Samsung to its portfolio of leading appliance brands, which already includes Whirlpool, LG, GE, GE Profile, Maytag, Frigidaire, Electrolux and Adora.

The home improvement retailer will carry Samsung appliances at its more than 2,000 stores nationwide and online beginning Sunday, December 9.

STAMFORD, Conn. — Pitney Bowes has appointed Marc B. Lautenbach as its new president and CEO, effective immediately. Lautenbach succeeds Murray D. Martin, who is retiring as the company’s chairman, president and CEO and has resigned from the company’s board of directors.

Martin will continue to work with Lautenbach, who has nearly 30 years of experience in the technology and business services industry in senior leadership positions at IBM, on an effective transition.

Abuse of liberal return policies and enterprising thieves will cost the retail industry $8.9 billion this year, including $2.9 billion during the holidays alone.

The National Retail Federation arrived at those massive numbers after surveying loss prevention executives at 60 member companies who estimated that 4.6% returns made during the holidays are fraudulent.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Former Belk executive Carl Scibetta has been named the new EVP and GMM at Shoe Carnival. Scibetta will report to Cliff Sifford, the former GMM, who was recently appointed president and CEO of the company.

Leading third party logistic provider Transplace has acquired Canada’s Torus Freight Systems.

Transplace, a leading provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, acquired for an undisclosed sum Torus Freight Systems, a Canadian-based logistics services company focused on Canadian cross-border and intra-Canada freight.

New York -- Multiple reports on Tuesday revealed that private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has upped its stake in shoe retailer DSW Inc. to 1.3 million shares – or 3% of the company.

The news sent DSW shares upward as much as 6% on Tuesday.

Leonard Green previously owned 981,196 shares in DSW before raising its stake. It was forced to disclose its new position after a request for confidential treatment expired on Nov. 28.