Strategy

Schostak Brothers has added six multi-tenant properties to its “Shadow Walmart” portfolio of retail space adjoining supercenters, bringing it to a total of 67. The new additions are located in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.   “In the last decade, we have pursued an aggressive growth strategy in order to assemble one of the largest Walmart Supercenter shadow-anchored shopping center portfolios in the United States,” said Schostak COO Warren Strietzel.  

Walmart made sweeping changes to its e-commerce organization for the second time since it acquired online retailer Jet.com and appointed company founder Marc Lore as head of its own e-commerce division. The latest move, announced in a memo to Walmart associates on Jan. 13, further consolidates the retail giant’s online properties, and strengthens Lore’s influence on the chain’s digital strategy as it faces-off with Amazon.    

Forest City announced it has closed on the sale of Shops at Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx to Urban Edge Properties for $32 million. The seller expects to net $9.2 million in the transaction.  

Luxury Brand Holdings, parent company of Ross-Simons and Sidney Thomas, has appointed James M. Speltz as president.    Speltz will join the company’s board and oversee all business activities. Most recently, he was COO for Teikametrics, a software and service provider to Amazon.com third-party merchants.  

Albertsons appointed Narayan Iyengar as senior VP, digital marketing and e-commerce.   Iyengar will be responsible for leading all aspects of digital marketing, including loyalty programs, shopper marketing and the company’s overall digital presence, as well as Albertsons’ e-commerce business, including home delivery.   

An historic department store building that closed its doors and has been empty for 30 years — long enough for a tree to start growing inside it — has been given a brand new lease on life.  

The Chinese e-commerce giant had a very merry holiday as its December quarter sales surged 54% year-over-year (YoY).   Alibaba’s sales hit $7.7 billion for the three months ended on Dec. 31, 2016, exceeding analysts’ expectation of $7.3 billion. The increase is also prompting the retailer to “adjust up our 2017 fiscal year revenue guidance from 48% to 53% year-over-year growth,” said Maggie Wu, CFO of Alibaba Group.   

Every year after the holidays the same topics seem to dominate media coverage of the retail industry. The numbers are in, who’s closing stores? Who’s going out of business? Who are this year’s casualties in the great Clicks vs. Bricks War? This focus on post-holiday attrition is part of a larger conversation about the future of retail, one often tinged by notes of panic, dire predictions, and dramatic pronouncements such as: Online retail is damaging brick-and-mortar. Malls are dead! Retailers are shuttering hundreds of stores! 

Rite-Aid has named Ken Black senior VP and chief human resources officer, effective immediately.   Black, who served as the drug chain’s group VP of compensation, benefits and shared services, will succeed Dedra Castle, who is leaving the company for personal health reasons.   Black will report to CEO John Standley, and be responsible for all aspects of human resources, including training, recruitment, talent management, compensation and benefits, labor relations, leadership development and diversity.

Eloquii, a fashion-forward online apparel retailer for women sizes 14 to 28, plans to test a physical store.   The retailer plans to open a “concept shop” in Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., Women’s Wear Daily reported. The 2,600-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in March.     Although only a three-month lease was signed, Eloquii executives see the store as a test to determine the potential for a brick-and-mortar strategy, the report said.