Finance & Capital Management

DDR has purchased a new Chicago center anchored by a Mariano’s supermarket for $81 million. The 137,618-sq.-ft. property is located on 3030 North Broadway in the Lakeview section of town.   XSport Fitness, PNC Bank, and Starbucks are tenants in the center along with Mariano’s, a chain Chicagoland founded by former Dominick’s deli worker Bob Mariano, who grew it to nearly 48 stores. The chain is now owned by Kroger.  

On pace to double its online business for fiscal 2016, apparel retailer J. Lindeberg is ready to take control of its e-commerce destiny.    The company, known for its men's and women's fashion and golf apparel and accessories, recently launched in Canada, and now has its sights set on digital expansion into North and South America. At the core of this expansion is bringing its operating platform in-house.  

Amazon is getting ready to break ground on yet another new fulfillment center — its first in Colorado.    The one million-sq.-ft. facility being constructed in Aurora is expected to create more than 1,000 new full-time jobs. Associates at the Aurora warehouse will pick, pack and ship larger customer items, such as sports equipment, musical instruments and furniture.  

Burlington Stores is promoting three key executives, with the appointments all effective January 30, 2017.   The appointments include the following:    • Jennifer Vecchio, executive VP/chief merchandising officer since May 2015, will be promoted to the newly created role of chief merchandising officer/principal, and will assume responsibility for the merchandise planning, allocation and MIO functions.  

Pep Boys has added 130 stores to its portfolio.   The company has purchased Just Brakes, a privately held an automotive repair and maintenance chain, increasing the number of Pep Boys auto service locations to over 900 locations.  

The Kroger Co. is hiring to fill an estimated 10,000 permanent positions in its supermarket divisions.   The company also announced that its total active workforce grew by more than 12,000 associates in 2016. Over the last eight years, Kroger has created more than 86,000 permanent, new jobs. (The total does not include jobs created as a result of capital investment, such as temporary construction jobs, nor do they include increases due to the company's mergers. Kroger and its subsidiaries today employ more than 443,000 associates.

In its latest move to stay afloat, Sears is scrapping its associate discount program in favor of a new concept.    Sears’ employee discount program, which gave employees money off purchases at checkout, is transitioning to a service that will reward asso-ciates with points through the chain’s Shop Your Way loyalty program. The change, which will impact all active Sears Holdings associates, spouses and eligible dependents, is set to launch on Sunday, Jan. 29.  

Despite global economic fluctuations, China is still a world leader in many markets — including global e-commerce.   China’s online retail sales have grown by 33.3% to exceed $581 billion in 2015. Momentum is expected to continue, as sales in the country are expected to grow by 20% yearly through 2020, according to BizView, a B2B marketplace that enables users to connect with over seven million companies around the globe.  

A mixed-use project with 103,000 sq. ft. of retail in the western suburbs of Chicago has been purchased by Retail Properties of America for $88 million.   Main Street Promenade, a town center style development in Naperville, is 93% leased and includes tenants such as Ann Taylor, Sur la Table, White House | Black Market, and Anthropologie.   

The much anticipated approval for the Walgreens/Rite Aid merger, through which Walgreens has proposed to pay $9.4 billion for the acquisition of Rite Aid's 4,547 stores in an effort to bolster its national footprint, did not happen by Friday morning as many had speculated.    Now there is a new countdown clock — the deal is set to expire Jan. 27 if not approved before that time.