Finance & Capital Management

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. reported Wednesday net income of $11 million, compared with $6.1 million in the year-ago period. Sales surged 44% to $72 million, driven by a 16.7% increase in same-store sales as well as 76 new boutique openings since the end of the third quarter last year.

Add Sherwin-Williams to the list of retailers celebrating store expansion milestones this year.

Dollar General opened its 10,000th location earlier in the year, followed by the 5,000th AutoZone store and more recently Walgreens opened its 8,000th store. Now, Sherwin-Williams has opened its 3,500 stores in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. The 4,000-sq.-ft. store is the 70th retail location the company has opened this year and its 147th location in California.

Melrose, Mass. -- Charter Realty & Development Corp. announced that shortly after acquiring Towers Plaza in Melrose, Mass., it has signed a 20-year lease for 29,980 sq. ft. to Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods will move into a space currently occupied by Johnny’s Foodmaster. The space will undergo a major renovation that will coincide with Charter’s renovation of the balance of the center.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group announced that Robert E. Sulentic assumed the position of president and CEO, effective Dec. 1.
   
Sulentic succeeds Brett White, who, as previously announced, retired on Nov. 30.

Sulentic, most recently the company’s president, also joined CBRE’s board of directors, which has expanded to 11 members. White also remains a member of the board.
 

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.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. reported Wednesday that sales for November dipped 3.9% to $5.85 billion, compared with $6.09 billion for the same month in fiscal 2012.

Total front-end sales decreased 0.3% and same-store front-end sales decreased 1.7%.

Walgreens opened 39 stores during November, including 10 relocations and closed one.

NEW YORK — If you thought Starbucks was everywhere already, wait a few years, as the company has announced plans to open 3,000 more stores in the Americas alone in the next five years.

Senior executives at the company outlined details of its growth agenda across its global retail, emerging brands and CPG channels at its biennial investor conference this week.

When Simon Property Group completes its transformational redevelopment of Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, Calif., it will be with a new Nordstrom department store in place.

The iconic 2.3-million-sq.-ft., super-regional center will feature a 138,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom, which is relocating to Del Amo from South Bay Galleria. Nordstrom is slated to open in 2015.