Marketing

Sylmar, Calif. – A new Vallarta Supermarkets store opens in Hesperia, Calif., on April 9. The 42,000-sq.-ft. location will offer specialty departments including a bakery, full-service meat counter, fresh produce, a hot food deli (Taqueria) with in-store dining, a shuttle service and a customer service department that offers check cashing, money transfers and utility bill payments.

When the winning team cuts down the net after Monday night at the NCAA Men’s Championship game they will do so from atop a customer built nine foot Werner brand step ladder.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. recently signed Wes Koontz, CCIM, as director of net lease investment sales. He will work in tandem with Kevin Conway, also director of net lease investment sales.

Fort Worth, Texas and Napa, Calif. — A joint venture of Trademark Property Co. and Zapolski Real Estate LLC, the $30 million Napa Center transformation started in September 2013 with upgrades to common areas. Changes include new energy-efficient roofing, paint and façade upgrades, new architectural elements, expanded and updated walkways, new seating areas, landscaping, ambient lighting and signage.

Fredericton, Canada -- Plaza Retail REIT plans six new Canadian retail projects: four new re-developments and two new ground-up development projects. Four projects are located in Quebec, one in Atlantic Canada and one in Ontario.

In all, Plaza will be investing approximately $24 million for its share of these six new projects and will add approximately 155,000-sq.-ft. to its portfolio of retail properties (at Plaza's ownership percentage). The Ontario project and three Quebec projects are being developed with joint venture partners.

Barnes & Noble named Tulane University president Scott Cowen to its board a after a major shareholder disclosed it was dumping 90% of its stake in the company and relinquishing a seat on the board of directors.

Cowen serves as president of Tulane University in New Orleans and also holds the titles of Seymour S. Goodman Memorial Professor of Business in Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and Professor of Economics in the School of Liberal Arts.

Washington, D.C. -- Retail employment increased 18,200 in March and 229,000 year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation. The increase is consistent with recent positive economic indicator reports and bodes well for income and consumer confidence as the industry enters into the busy spring selling season.

Columbus, Ohio — DSW Inc., Designer Shoe Warehouse has announced the opening of a new store in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on April 10. As of April 10, DSW will operate 407 stores in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

DSW also operates an e-commerce site at DSW.com. In addition, the company supplies footwear to 357 leased locations in the United States under the Affiliated Business Group.