Finance & Capital Management

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it has issued an open letter to President Obama urging him to call for action on initiatives that support a strong retail sector when he delivers his State of the Union address later this month. The letter was signed by Macy’s chairman, president and CEO Terry Lundgren, who chairs the NRF doard of directors, and NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens’ chairman Alan G. McNally, president and CEO Gregory D. Wasson and executive VP and CFO Wade D. Miquelon on Wednesday outlined the company’s strategies for growth and value creation for shareholders at the chain’s annual shareholders meeting.

New York City -- David Yurman on Wednesday announced that Glen T. Senk will join the fine-jewelry company as CEO, effective Feb. 27. Senk, who on Tuesday announced he was stepping down as CEO of Urban Outfitters, will take an ownership stake in the privately owned company.

New York City --

The government said it would lift the current 51% ownership limit on foreign companies that sell just one brand of products — a group that would include such companies as Gap, Apple and Starbucks — if they met certain strict conditions, the report said.

Minneapolis -- Supervalu Inc.'s fiscal third-quarter loss widened on larger write-down’s and weaker sales. The company reported a net loss of $750 million, including non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges of $800 million after-tax, from a loss of $202 million a year ago.

Supervalu said same-store sales fell 2.9% in the latest quarter. Net sales fell 4% to $8.33 billion, below analysts' average forecast of $8.42 billion.

Beachwood, Ohio -- Buyout firm The Blackstone Group and real estate investment trust DDR Corp. will buy 46 shopping centers owned by EPN Group for $1.43 billion, which includes the assumption of at least $945 million in debt.

Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, an affiliate of Blackstone, will own 95% of the joint venture. DDR will own 5% and invest $150 million in preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate of 10%.

Smart move by Target to open its first wave of Canadian stores in Ontario, as the province accounts for roughly one third of the nation’s 36 million residents and is home to Target Canada headquarters and distribution facilities.

Target may have floundered a bit in December, but many retailers reported solid sales gains for the month. Overall, retail sales rose 3.4% at the 22 retailers tracked by the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index, compared with the 3.3% analyst forecast, however results were mixed.

That was the case with the nation’s discounters and department store retailers, with many chains citing unseasonably warm weather that sapped demand for cold-weather merchandise.

Undaunted by the reality that two months into the fourth quarter same-store sales have failed to materialize at the pace originally envisioned, Target is sticking with guidance that calls for a low- to mid- single-digit increase in January.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney announced that Thomas Engibous will become chairman of its board of directors on Jan. 28.  Engibous was named to the board in 1999 and has served in presiding director and lead independent director roles since 2008.  He will assume the chairman's role from Myron Ullman, III, JCPenney's former chief executive officer, who will step down as executive chairman.