Finance & Capital Management

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu has made three new executive appointments following the departure of Sue Klug, president of its Albertsons Southern California division.

Dan Sanders has been tapped to head Albertsons Southern California, Keith Wyche will lead Acme and Brian Audette has been named president at Cub Foods.

Editor’s Note: Chain Store Age’s 23rd annual survey of Fastest-Growing Managers measures new domestic and international third-party management and leasing contracts obtained during the preceding calendar year (2011).

Now more than ever, retail real estate is not a business to be conducted without forethought. The days of gut instincts and seat-of-the-pants decisions have been replaced by the need to plan far ahead to guarantee a company’s continued growth.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus announced that Michael R. Kingston would be joining the company, April 23, as senior VP, CIO of The Neiman Marcus Group. Kingston succeeds Phillip Maxwell, who earlier this month announced his retirement.

Kingston joins Neiman Marcus Group from Ann Inc., parent company of Ann Taylor, where he was the executive VP enterprise transformation and technology.
 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores announced that its board of directors has nominated Marissa A. Mayer of Google Inc., for election as a new member of the company’s board at Walmart’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on June 1, 2012. If elected, Mayer would become the sixteenth member of the board.

Access to operating capital remains an ongoing challenge for some retailers, which are still facing a difficult time when it comes to securing a loan. The problem is particularly acute for small and medium-sized businesses: Among U.S. small business owners, 90% believe the availability of credit for small businesses is a problem, and 61% agree it’s harder to get a loan now than it was four years ago, according to a recent study by the American Sustainable Business Council, Small Business Majority and Main Street Alliance.

Editor’s note: Chain Store Age’s 23rd annual survey of Fastest-Growing Acquirers measured retail square footage purchased during the 2011 calendar year.

For some companies, being among the top acquirers of shopping centers almost is business as usual — top-ranked Inland Real Estate is a perennial leader, largely through avidly scouring daily for possible deals, while Kimco maintained its focus on top projects in top markets.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Walmart board of directors is poised for an infusion of fresh, and young, talent when shareholders vote to approve a slate of directors that includes Google’s VP of local and maps.

Washington, D.C.  -- The retail real estate sector posted positive net absorption, a stable vacancy, and a near-stabilization of rent for the first quarter of 2012, according to the latest research from CoStar Group.