Finance & Capital Management

Charlotte, N.C. -- Starwood Retail Partners announced a $50 million investment in an 11-acre parcel adjacent to Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company plans to build a 200,000-sq. ft. lifestyle component complementing the existing two-story mall. Construction is set to begin by early 2017.

The project will include retail, dining, entertainment, landscaping, parking and pedestrian friendly areas.

Boston -- The Wilder Companies announced new hires and promotions.

North Plainfield, N.J. -- Levin Management announced a series of promotions and new hires to support continued growth and expansion in 2016.

“This is an exciting time for our company,” noted Matthew K. Harding, president for Levin. “We ended 2015 on a very positive note, and expect this momentum to continue throughout 2016. Our internal promotions and new staff additions ensure that we will consistently meet, and exceed, client expectations as we strengthen Levin’s presence in key markets throughout the Northeast.”

Dollar Tree on Tuesday credited sales at its Family Dollar division as helping to boost the company’s overall results for the fourth quarter. But the increase still fell short of analysts expectations.

Sales for the quarter ended Jan. 30 totaled $5.37 billion, a 116.7% increase from the year-ago period but still less than expected. The boost in revenue was the result of $2.68 billion in sales from the Family Dollar segment.

Fast-expanding grocery chain Aldi is making it even easier for consumers to shop its no-frills stores.

The European chain has announced it will now accept credit cards – including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express – at all of its stores across the country.

A new form of wage theft has recently been identified, where employers misclassify employees’ schedules in order to shift the business expenses associated with scheduling to the employee. Illegal misclassification schemes have been around for decades. A common example is an employer misclassifying an employee’s job title, so that the employee is a salaried employee, in order to avoid paying the employee overtime. Here, the employers are misclassifying the employee’s schedules, instead of the employee’s job title, to avoid paying reporting time premiums.

Pet Supplies Plus will target California as part of its strategic growth plan for 2016.

The nation’s largest pet franchise, which has more than 330 locations in 26 states, announced it will expand into the Golden State to grow its base of multi-unit franchise partners.

Efforts to rework its distribution process netted big wins in the second quarter for AutoZone, which reported increases in same-store sales and profit.

The auto parts retailer posted net sales of $2.3 billion for its second quarter ended Feb. 13, an increase of 5.3% from the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Same-store sales increased 3.6% for the quarter. Net income for the quarter increased 8% over the same period last year to $228.6 million, while diluted earnings per share increased 14.2% to $7.43 per share from $6.51 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Stein Mart says it has extended its consumer credit agreement with Synchrony Financial with a new long-term deal.

Since 2006, Synchrony Financial and Stein Mart have partnered to offer credit card programs for qualifying cardholders at the retail chain’s 278 stores and at Steinmart.com. Consumers can apply in-store or online for the Stein Mart Style Credit Card or the Stein Mart Style Platinum Master Card.

Sports Authority Inc., which is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy, has discussed selling stores and intellectual property to rival chain Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and other parties, according to Bloomberg.

Sports Authority, once the largest sporting-goods retailer in the U.S., is heading toward default after years of losing ground to competitors. The Englewood, Colorado-based chain missed a Jan. 15 interest payment on some of its debt and failed to make the payment during a 30-day grace period.