Finance & Capital Management

Ikea is installing the largest solar rooftop array in the state of Tennessee atop its location in Memphis.

The store’s 250,675-sq.-ft. solar array consists of a 1.46 MW system, built with 4,424 panels that will produce approximately 2,000,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent of reducing 1,406 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)).

For the development, design and installation of the Memphis customized solar power system, Ikea selected Hannah Solar, an Atlanta-based full service, certified solar integrator.

Things are looking up for Toys “R” Us.   The nation’s largest specialty toy retailer posted a 20% increase in operating profit and reduced its net loss for the second-quarter amid reduced costs, including the expense of running its now-shuttered Times Square flagship.    In addition, the retailer announced it successfully reached an agreement to refinance all of its 2017 notes and a portion of its 2018 maturities.  

North American real estate owners and developers ratcheted up their green profiles markedly this year, though they still lag global trendsetters, according to the latest results of an annual sustainability study.   In GRESB’s annual environmental assessment of real estate developers and investment trusts, North American companies averaged a score of 59 out of a possible hundred, a five-point rise from last year and just shy of the global average of 60.  

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about an article I read earlier this summer, a piece by Krystina Gustafson that appeared on cnbc.com entitled, “For retailers, closing stores isn't as easy as it once was.”  

Chain Store Age magazine is accepting nominations for its 12th annual “Top Redevelopers” listing, which recognizes shopping center owners and developers’ retail redevelopment efforts over the last 12 months. Selections will be based on square footage redeveloped between June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2016, financial investment, and project significance.

Construction has started on the first hotel at One Daytona, the $120 million-plus project going up next to the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.   The 105-room Fairfield Inn & Suites being erected by Shaner Hotel Group is a short walk from the track. It will be joined by a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel to be called The Daytona.  

A new study from RBC Capital reveals that reversing Banana Republic’s ongoing sales decline is not going to be an easy fix for Gap Inc., reported thestreet.com.
 
In the survey, 48% of millennials polled said they disliked the chain compared to 22% who said they liked it. A majority of non-millennials also said they disliked the brand.
 

Tiffany & Co. has hired Mark Erceg to become its next executive VP and CFO, effective Oct. 18, 206.   Erceg, 47, who will be responsible for the company’s worldwide financial, indirect procurement and information technology functions, replaces Tiffany’s former CFO who left the retailer in May.   Previously, Erceg was with Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, where he has served as executive VP and CFO since May 2015.  

Apparel retailer Nasty Girl, one of the hottest apparel merchants on the Internet just a few years back, is looking for a possible buyer, Women’s Wear Daily reported.  

Retailers can learn how to develop a strategic process for reducing one of their major facility operating expenses — energy — at Chain Store Age’s upcoming webinar, Understanding and Controlling Energy Costs in Retail.