Mergers & Acquisitions

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) board of directors has announced the departure of Steve Berger as president and CEO of CHA. The board of directors will immediately begin a search for a new chief executive. No timetable has been set for securing a replacement. In the interim, Tony Lee, VP meetings and expositions, will serve as acting president and CEO.

Cincinnati -- Kroger Co. CEO and chairman David Dillon saw his pay fell again as the chain's sales and profit growth fell below tough targets amid continuing economic instability.

An Associated Press analysis shows Dillon received compensation for 2011 valued at $5.4 million, down 19% from 2009. It is the third straight year in which Dillon's largely performance-based pay fell.

The AP's calculation counts salary, bonuses, perks and stock and options awarded to the executive during the year.
 

Santiago Roces left Walmart with little fanfare or the issuance of a press release last month, which isn’t uncommon for executives at the SVP level at the company the size of Walmart. Nevertheless, the timing of the departure certainly seems curious given that Roces was the guy with the words “small format” in his title and Walmart is about to open the first of its Walmart Express stores and rebrand Neighborhood Market as Walmart Market.

Bryn Mawr, Pa. -- WP Realty and Angelo, Gordon & Co. announced the acquisition of the Shaw’s portfolio, consisting of seven Shaw’s-anchored shopping centers and one free-standing Hannaford Bros. located throughout Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island.

The portfolio totals 659,143 sq. ft, is 97% leased and contains a mix of national, regional and local tenants. Shaw’s occupies 419,098 sq. ft. across the portfolio, Hannaford Bros. occupies 45,882 sq. ft., Staples 23,942 sq. ft., among others.
 

Encino, Calif. -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has promoted Bill Rose to director of the National Retail Group.

Rose joined Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office in September 2003 as a retail and multifamily investment specialist. He was promoted to senior associate in September 2006. He rejoined the firm in November 2009 as sales manager of the San Diego office and in November 2010 was named western regional director of the NRG.
 

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. -- Fameco Real Estate announced that it is opening an office in center city Philadelphia to better accommodate the growth of its clientele in the market. 

Seattle -- Nordstrom reported Thursday that its first-quarter net income rose 25% on improved revenue. But the company lowered its full-year outlook to reflect the impact of its acquisition of private-sale website HauteLook.

Nordstrom said it earned $145 million for the quarter that ended April 30, up from $116 million in the same quarter last year. (The figure includes a charge related to the HauteLook acquisition.) Revenue increased 12% to $2.23 billion. Same-store sales were up 6.5%.

One of the more interesting developments in the retail industry is set to unfold in a series of small towns along the Western edge of Arkansas where Walmart is set open the first of its experimental small formats.