Mergers & Acquisitions

New York -- Brixmor Property Group announced commercial real estate professional Mark Salma has joined the company as VP of redevelopment. In his role, Salma will focus on Brixmor’s anchor space repositioning projects in the North region with the goal of driving higher sales, traffic and small shop leasing at the property level.

A.R.E. (Association for Retail Environments) and POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International) have merged. The new association, which will be renamed in the coming months, creates one industry association representing all of the companies that provide end –‐to –‐end products and services for retail store environments and customer experiences.

Gelson's Markets is joining Smart & Final on the acquisition of some Haggen properties in Southern California.

Gelson's, a regional supermarket chain operating in Southern California, announced it is bidding on eight Haggen locations across five counties: Los Angeles County (Santa Monica); Orange County (Laguna Beach, Ladera Ranch); Riverside County (Rancho Mirage); San Diego County (Carlsbad, Del Mar, Pacific Beach); and Ventura County (Thousand Oaks).

There will be a change at the top of lifestyle apparel retailer Tommy Bahama.

The company announced that Terry R. Pillow will retire as CEO of Tommy Bahama Group on January 30, 2016, the end of the company's fiscal year. He will be succeeded by Douglas B. Wood, Tommy Bahama's current president and COO.

Miami -- Federal Realty Investment Trust, along with partners Grass River Property and The Comras Company, acquired 85% interest in The Shops at Sunset Place -- a 515,000 sq. ft. mixed-use center in South Miami, Florida for $110 million.

The transaction includes the assumption of an existing $70.8 million mortgage with an interest rate of 5.6% and maturity date of September 2020.

Boston-based sporting goods retailer City Sports has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to liquidate at least a quarter of its stores.

According to the Wall Street Journal, City Sports said it has a deal with liquidators Tiger Capital Group to hold going-out-of-business sales at eight of the company’s 26 stores, which are scattered throughout the Northeast from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.

In a not unanticipated move, American Apparel filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Monday. But the company said its stores will not be affected by the filing, and no store closings or layoffs were announced.

The Los Angeles-based retailer, which has not reported a profit since 2009, has been struggling under the weight of big debts sluggish sales and a protracted — and costly — legal battle with its founder and ousted CEO, the controversial Dov Charney.

After a false start and years of delays, American Dream Meadowlands, the sprawling retail/ entertainment mega center planned for East Rutherford, New Jersey, is finally taking shape under the reins of new owners Triple Five Corp.