Finance & Capital Management

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s investment sales group has brokered the sale of the 301,045-sq.-ft. Mount Prospect Plaza in Mount Prospect, Ill., a northwestern suburb of Chicago.

Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust purchased the property for $36.1 million from a pension fund advised by JP Morgan Asset Management Inc.

London -- Wm Morrison Supermarkets said Thursday it will have the technology systems, online presence and c-store counts by 2015 to significantly close the gap on its closest competitors.

Britain’s No. 4 grocer trails Tesco, Wal-Mart's Asda and J Sainsbury in annual sales. Its CEO Dalton Philips is optimistic about the chain’s ability to compete. “I've only been here three years,” he told Bloomberg. “There was no plan for online, there was no plan for convenience and we had systems, which were 20th century.”

BRISBANE, Calif. — Global specialty retailer Bebe reported retail sales of $109 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended July 6, a decrease of 8.5% compared to $119.1 million for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2012. 

Comparable store sales for the quarter decreased 7.1% compared to a decrease of 2.5% in the fourth fiscal quarter of the prior year. The decrease was primarily driven by the negative comparable store traffic during the quarter, with April being the most negative. 

Redmond, Wash. -- In an internal email to all employees, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a sweeping internal realignment he said will build upon a strategy launched last year to bring Microsoft more fully into the devices and services market.

The company will reduce emphasis on its traditional strong point of consumer and business software, such as the Windows OS and Office suite of desktop applications, and focus more on computing devices such as Xbox and Surface and on services delivered to mobile device users.

New York -- Uniqlo is expanding its U.S. footprint. The Japanese apparel retailer, a division of Fast Company, will open 10 more U.S. stores this fall, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California.
 
The new locations, all in shopping centers, will bring the brand’s presence in the United States to a total of 17 sites.

The 10 new Uniqlo locations include:

LOS ANGELES — PriceGrabber, a division of CPL Holdings, has appointed Jeff Goldstein as president. In his new role Goldstein will direct strategy and oversee the day-to-day operations of the business. 

Brussels, Belgium -- Belgian grocer Delhaize Group said that it has reached an agreement to sell 25 Maxi, Mini Maxi, and Tempo stores in Montenegro to Expo Commerce.

The transaction is slated to close in the fourth quarter, and Delhaize and Expo will enter into a franchise agreement to maintain the Maxi, Mini Maxi and Tempo names.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco has started the summer right, reporting sales of $9.92 billion for the month of June, the five-week period ended July 7, an 8% increase over the same period last year. 

For the 44-week period that ended Sunday, sales were $87.05 billion, also an 8% increase over the same period last year. For the month and the 44-week period, same-store sales rose 6%.