Strategy

Bexley, Ohio -- Stanbery Development said it has named former Jos. A. Bank exec Stephen E. Gallant as director of construction and tenant coordination as it returns to active development of shopping centers. Gallant's experience includes responsibility for numerous retail design concepts as well as associated rollouts of new stores ranging from 850 sq. ft. to 250,000 sq. ft. Most recently, Gallant managed real estate portfolios and retail tenant construction projects for Skye Group and The Stanchion Group, respectively. As VP of facilities management for Jos. A.

Grapevine, Texas – Like many other retailers, GameStop Corp. employs seasonal hires for the holiday season. Unlike many other retailers, GameStop focuses on skill growth and professional success for its 17,000-23,000 annual seasonal hires.

New York – Organized crime groups targeting retail have a new opponent. Multiple retailers and law enforcement agencies across multiple locations and jurisdictions are banding together to form the Retail Organized Crime Coalition (ROCC).

The ROCC, which will officially launch and introduce its members at the Retail Fraud – New York conference on Sept. 24, will combat chronic retail organized crime through case referrals, education and the distribution of timely intelligence.

“Now Trending” is an exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

For many, the concept of an outlet mall is associated with not only appealing deals on name-brand products, but also with driving long distances to get to the far-flung locations where outlets have traditionally been located.
 

Minneapolis – The ongoing shakeup of senior management that has been occurring at Target Corp. since CEO Brian J. Cornell took the reins in August 2014 is continuing. Target has promoted John Mulligan, who has served as CFO since 2012, to the newly created role of executive VP and COO, effective Sept. 1.

As technology for LED lighting continues to improve, it is expected that LED lighting -- which is more energy efficient, lasts longer and has a significantly lower cost of operation -- will completely replace traditional fluorescent and HID lighting technologies. The LED lighting market is anticipated to grow 45% per year though 2020, and is expected to reach a market size of over $60 billion dollars.

Sidney, Neb. – Cabela’s Inc. is reorganizing its merchandising team with the transition of executive VP/chief merchandising officer Brian J. Linneman to the role of strategic advisor, effective Aug. 31. As part of this change, the company is promoting Scott K. Williams to executive VP and chief commercial officer, merchandising, along with marketing, e-commerce, real estate, and strategy.

Roger Verhulst, senior VP of merchandising, will continue to lead the merchandising teams and report directly to Williams.

Bellingham, Wash. – West Coast regional grocer Haggen is scaling back some highly ambitious growth plans. Haggen, which made headlines by buying 146 divested Albertson’s and Safeway stores as an 18-unit chain in December 2014, is closing or selling a number of locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Seattle – Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com, is reportedly blasting an article in the New York Times that accuses the retailer of having a ruthless and even abusive workplace culture. According to CNBC, in an internal memo (excerpt below), the article is inaccurate and goes beyond “isolated anecdotes.”