Finance & Capital Management

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- The Sembler Company and Forge Capital Partners announced the purchase of Disston Plaza in St. Petersburg, Florida, which will be added to Forge Real Estate Partners III investment fund. The 123,000 sq. ft. shopping center is currently 98% occupied and is anchored by Publix and also includes Bealls Outlet and Dollar Tree.

Whatever you have planned for Saturday, Oct. 10, specialty apparel retailer Ross Dress for Less will probably be busier.

The Ross Stores Inc. banner is opening six new stores, including three in a new market, as well as relocating a store.

The importance of expense control at Walmart became evident on Friday when the retailer confirmed it planned to eliminate 450 positions as part of a broader restructuring effort.

Citing favorable market conditions and a desire to “de-risk” its pension plan, nearly 14,000 participants in J.C. Penney’s retirement plan opted to receive lump sum payments.

Supervalu announced that president and CEO Sam Duncan will retire at the end of the company’s fiscal year. The company also elevated two other executives to key senior leadership roles and affirmed its commitment to exploring strategic alternatives for the Save-A-Lot retail division.

The $18 billion grocery wholesaler and retailer said Duncan would remain with the company until February 29, 2016. He joined the company in February 2013 in connection with the sale by Supervalu of five retail banners to Albertsons.

The importance of expense control at Walmart became evident on Friday when the retailer confirmed it planned to eliminate 450 positions as part of a broader restructuring effort.

The highly anticipated EMV deadline of Oct. 1 has come and gone, leaving many retailers and payment solutions providers to ponder what’s next? As of Oct. 1, 2015, any U.S. retailer that does not have the necessary POS hardware, software, and operational and network protocols in place to process an EMV-compliant chip card transaction faces a shift in fraud liability.

Lauren Hobart has been elevated to the role of executive VP at Dick’s Sporting Goods and given responsibility for a potential new growth vehicle. Hobart was named executive VP, CMO and general manager of Dick’s new women’s specialty fitness store format, which is branded as Chelsea Collective. Only two store are in operation currently, in McLean, Virginia. and Pittsburgh, but greater growth could be in store now that Dick’s has given a senior executive oversight of the concept.

Chico’s is looking to a veteran of Victoria’s Secret to help the company navigate some troubling times. The company announced that Cynthia A. Fields has been appointed to its board of directors, effective immediately. Fields was also appointed to the board's merchant committee.

Subway has upped its commitment to sustainability. As a part of the restaurant chain's ongoing goal to make its restaurants and operations more socially responsible, the company has made LED lighting the standard for all new and remodeled restaurants. The upgrade will provide energy-efficient lighting that, in 2014 with a small percentage of stores participating, saved 21.9 million kilowatt hours – enough energy to power 1,996 households in a single year.