Strategy

Los Angeles -- Fast-casual pizza franchise PizzaReb has entered into a financing agreement with Wintrust Franchise Services to support the restaurant company’s growth.

“We’re eager to build on the growth momentum we’re experiencing with our customers and franchise partners, and the Wintrust fund will greatly support our strategic development goals,” said Rodney Eckerman, co-CEO and founder, PizzaRev.

Discontinuing tobacco sales a year ago may have been the right thing to do for CVS Health, but the company’s fourth quarter results offer other retailers contemplating a similar move a glimpse of the short term impact on sales.

Non-pharmacy front of store same store sales at CVS Health locations declined 7.2% during the fourth quarter but would have registered a slight increase were it not for an 800 basis point negative impact associated with lost sale of tobacco and related products.

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters Inc. beat Wall Street expectations with its sales for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2014. Total net sales grew 12% to $1.01 billion from $905.86 million.

Same-store sales, including direct-to-consumer sales, rose 6%. For the full year, total net sales increased 8% to $3.32 billion, from $3.09 billion. Same-store sales grew 2%. For both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year, strong growth in the wholesale segment helped push up total net sales.

The Finish Line is looking to upgrade its customer experience capabilities with the addition of a new chief omnichannel officer and executive vice president.

The company announced that former Sears executive Imran Jooma has joined the company as chief omnichannel officer and executive VP. He will be responsible for all of the Finish Line brand’s customer facing touch points including digital, store operations, the customer care center and brand marketing.

Atlanta -- JLL announced the expansion of its management platform with the addition of Brett Earp as the new Southeast and Florida property management lead. Based out of the firm’s Atlanta office, he will partner with Atlanta Retail Market Lead John Bemis and Florida Retail Market Lead John Lambert to maximize the firm’s clients’ property values. He will be responsible for increasing or maintaining their net operating income by developing and executing strategic operational efficiencies.

Livermore, Calif. -- Simon announced today that Livermore Premium Outlets, the Bay Area's premier outlet shopping center, will be rebranded and named San Francisco Premium Outlets in conjunction with its major expansion.

The 512,000-sq.-ft. center opened in 2012 and is currently undergoing a significant expansion to add 185,000 sq. ft. to be populated by leading designer brands, opening on August 13, 2015.

Seattle -- REI will enter two new states in the fall, opening a store at the new Christiana Fashion Center, in Christiana, Delware, and another at the new Mills Crossing, in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The outdoor gear and apparel retailer also plans to open a store in Virginia Beach, Virginia, at Pembroke Mall, in spring 2016.

Randolph, Mass. - Distinctive Apparel has selected MarketLive as its new e-commerce technology platform to support its online and multi-channel retail operations. Privately-held Distinctive Apparel is the parent company for catalog retailers Chadwicks of Boston, Territory Ahead and Metrostyle, and all three brands will be joining the move.

Distinctive Apparel will deploy MarketLive’s full commerce suite, including a new Support Call Center module.