Finance & Capital Management

Oak Brook, Ill. -- The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. announced the appointment of Timothy D. Hutchison as COO of The Inland Real Estate Group.

In this position, Hutchison will be responsible for all non-investment operations of the company. Additionally, he will retain his duties as head of The Inland Services Group, leading the shared service entities.

Hutchison joined Inland in 2005 after having spent 14 years in operations and management roles in municipal government.

St. Charles, Mo. -- Peoria, Ill.-based Cullinan Properties announced that The Art Institute of St. Louis has signed a lease and will be opening a school at the new Streets of St. Charles mixed-use development, with classes scheduled to begin in July.

The development, located in St. Charles/Metro St. Louis, is currently delivering spaces to all of its phase one tenancy.

The Art Institute of St. Louis is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 50 educational institutions located throughout North America.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Sales continued to decline at two of Office Depot’s three divisions during the first quarter with weakness most pronounced in the retail business.

Total company sales declined 3% to $2.9 billion and were negatively affected by the ongoing struggles of the 1,123 unit North American retail division. Profits increased to $41 million or 14 cents a share compared with a prior year loss of $15 million or five cents a share.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Ahead of its annual shareholders' meeting, Sears Holdings has provided first-quarter guidance calling for net income between $155 million and $195 million (between $1.46 and $1.84 per diluted share from continuing operations) versus a net loss from continuing operations of $165 million ($1.53 loss per diluted share from continuing operations), for the first quarter in 2011.  The above range includes approximately $235 million, after tax and minority interest, of gains from the sale of certain U.S. and Canadian stores.

PHILADELPHIA — Pep Boys has released preliminary financial results for its first quarter ended April 28 and expects sales to be between $524 million and $526 million compared with $513.5 million for the same period last year. Net income for the quarter is expected to be between $0 million and $2 million, compared with $12.4 million for the same period last year.
             

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix's associates and board members will be pleased with the news that the company's private stock has increased from $22.40 per share to $22.70 per share, effective May 1. Since it is not publicly traded, only current Publix employees and members of its board of directors can buy Publix stock.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Enterprise software application company, SAP, has named Geraldine McBride as president of its North America region. In this role, McBride is responsible for all of SAP's business operations in the United States and Canada. She will report to Robert Enslin, president of sales and part of the SAP Global Managing Board.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. has selected long-time H&M veteran, Stefan Larsson, as the first global brand president for Old Navy. Larsson will join the company by October.

Bentonville, Ark. -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has ordered Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to pay more than $4.8 million in back wages and damages to some 4,500 employees nationwide.

The assessment follows a departmental investigation of the retailer that uncovered violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime provisions.

Wal-Mart has been assessed another $463,815 in civil money penalties.

Chicago -- A report released Tuesday by ShopperTrak found that consumers are expected to shop and buy more in the week leading up to Mother's Day than they did last year.

According to the report, national retail sales, when compared to the same period last year, will rise 6% in the week leading up to Mother's Day, and foot traffic will increase 3.7%.