International Business

New York -- Stuart Weitzman, the luxury footwear brand owned by The Jones Group Inc., has appointed Francois Kress to the newly created position of global president.

Kress, formerly president and chief operating officer of The Row (New York), will oversee all aspects of the Weitzman brand’s global retail and wholesale business and he will assume the role of strategic leader for new initiatives and brand extensions.

Dead Sea mineral-based skin care brand Ahava has appointed Beth Ann Catalano as president of Ahava North America, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Catalano succeeds Elana Drell-Szyfer, who recently joined the ranks at Kenneth Cole Productions.

Phoenix — CBRE has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Kohl’s department store at the Alameda Crossing shopping center in Avondale, Ariz. The 88,402-sq.-ft. retail property on 8.89 acres commanded a price of $10.6 million.

CBRE’s Phoenix office represented both the buy and the seller in the transaction. The seller was La Jolla, Calif.-based Collins Family Trust, Stanford Decedents Trust and Sarn Family Trust. The buyer was Investors Associated LLP of Oconomowoc, Wis.

Tumi Holdings has named Joseph R. Gromek as chairman of the company’s board of directors. Gromek, who joined the board in April 2012, succeeds Richard P. Hanson, who has stepped down as chairman.

Until his retirement in February 2012, Gromek served as president and CEO of the Warnaco Group since April 2003, and as a member of the company’s board. From 1996 to 2002, Gromek served as president and CEO of Brooks Brothers. During the past 25 years, Gromek has also held senior management positions with Saks Fifth Avenue, Limited Brands and Ann Taylor Stores.

Bangalore, India – Infosys and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have co-developed TradeEdge, a new cloud-based, insights-driven sales platform, which provides visibility to global brands across the demand chain, from distributors to consumers. The new platform delivers insights that help brands accurately sense and fulfill consumer demand in emerging markets.

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots reported a net loss of $9.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2013, up from a net loss of about $6 million in the year-ago period. The retailer also said it will exit the unprofitable Canadian market, which it entered through an acquisition in 2011.

Net sales grew about 2% in the same period, to $1.15 billion from $1.13 billion, and consolidated same-store sales declined about 2.5%.

Stanley Black & Decker has added Debra Crew, president of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, to its board of directors. Crew joined PepsiCo in 2010 as president of the western region of PepsiCo Europe, and was promoted in 2012.

Prior to PepsiCo, she held a number of management and leadership roles at Mars, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Kraft Foods.

Los Angeles — Retail rents in the world’s most expensive markets will rise further in 2014 due to a shortage of available prime locations combined with a lack of new development, according to CBRE Group’s third quarter report on the world’s prime global retail markets.

Hong Kong (US$4,333 per sq. ft.) remains the world’s most expensive retail market by a substantial margin. Hong Kong houses the highest representation of luxury retailers among all global cities. With a healthy tourist market and a lack of available space.