Finance & Capital Management

Washington, D.C. -- CBRE announced Tuesday that Louis G. Christopher has joined the firm as vice chairman, charged with focusing on tenant representation on a local, national and global level.

Christopher was previously with Cushman & Wakefield’s, where he was chairman of the firm’s Tenant Advisory Group.

Milwaukee -- NAI MLG Commercial said Tuesday that Brian J. Vanevenhoven has been named principal of the firm.

Vanevenhoven joined NAI MLG Commercial in 2000 and became a retail associate in 2001. In 2006, he was promoted to VP, and in 2007 was promoted to senior VP of the retail team. 

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters said Tuesday that its debut store in Israel will open on Thursday at Ramat Aviv Mall, in Tel Aviv.

Ten additional locations are planned over the next month, in locations such as The Big Mall in Petach Tikva, Kiryat Ono Mall, and Mall of Haifa. The franchise stores will be operated by Fox-Wizel Ltd., a leading retailer and wholesaler in the region.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot announced Tuesday the release of its 2011 Corporate Citizenship Report, highlighting its commitment to business, ethics, diversity, environmental sustainability and community.

Highlights of the report include diversity initiatives such as its Historically Underutilized Businesses catalog, which features products by businesses owned by minorities, women, the disabled and veterans; its ranking as the greenest retailer in America; and its compliance training initiatives.

Washington, D.C. -- The International Council of Shopping Centers announced Tuesday the launch of a new website devoted to sales tax fairness and how the current sales tax system is unable to support the 21st Century retail marketplace.

The site, 21stcenturyretail.org, will be continuously updated to provide the public, stakeholders, the media and lawmakers with information on the online sales tax loophole and resources to help level the playing field for all retailers, according to ICSC.

New York City -- Apple Inc. has hired John Browett, CEO of Dixons Retail PLC, the United Kingdom’s largest consumer-electronics retailer, to lead its retail store division. The appointment marks the end of a seven-month search to replace Ron Johnson, who left the world’s most valuable technology company last year to become CEO of J.C. Penney Co.

The appointment of 16-year Target veteran John Mulligan as the company’s new CFO makes a lot of sense as Target will benefit from continuity of leadership in its finance department.

New York City -- The Talbots is in buyout talks with the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners, according to the Boston Herald. The retailer signed a confidentiality agreement on Friday with the New York-based Sycamore, its second largest shareholder with 10% of the company, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the report said.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Hibbett Sports announced that Gary A. Smith, senior VP and CFO is retiring effective June 1, 2012. The company has started a search for his replacement.

Smith joined Hibbett in April 2001 as VP and CFO when the company had 282 stores in 19 states, predominantly in the Southeast. Today, Hibbett has over 800 stores in 26 states.
 

West Bridgewater, Mass. -- Shaw’s Supermarkets has reopened its store in Ludlow, Vt. The store had been closed after being severely damaged by flooding in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.

In addition to repairing the damage from the flooding, Shaw’s invested additional resources to remodel the store, including expanding the store to 19,000 sq. ft., upgrading equipment and adding to offerings in several key categories.