Strategy

New York -- Garrison Investment Group said Tuesday it has acquired a 13-property portfolio totaling 1.7 million sq. ft. of neighborhood and community shopping centers in Ohio and Indiana. The seller is Kimco Realty Corp.

The 13 properties feature retailers such as T.J. Maxx, Giant Eagle, Kroger, Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Depot.

Garrison engaged Cincinnati-based Select Strategies Realty manage and lease the properties.

New York -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index decreased again in September, following a downward revision in August. The index now stands at 107.86, down from the revised figure of 108.23 in August. The September figure is 5.4% higher than a year ago.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc. said Tuesday that it has opened a second Cleveland Nordstrom Rack store – at the Promenade in Crocker Park, owned and managed by Stark Enterprises.

The 34,000-sq.-ft. store is slated to open fall 2013 in a former Border’s space at the lifestyle shopping center located in Westlake, Ohio, and tenanted by Bed Bath & Beyond, H&M, Trader Joe’s, Victoria’s Secret and The Cheesecake Factory.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

Atlanta -- The SpendTrend analysis for September, released Tuesday by First Data Corp., found that card spending in September was down from the month prior.

The report, which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, showed that overall dollar volume growth was 5.8%, down from August’s 7.2% growth.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp., which in February announced it would spin off its Hometown and Outlet businesses as a separate publicly traded entity, said Tuesday it expects to receive about $446.5 million in gross proceeds from an offering tied to the spinoffs.

The offering of rights to purchase shares of the spinoff debuted on the Nasdaq under the "SHOSR" ticker symbol in September. According to Sears, the rights offering expired on Monday; preliminary results show that more than 95% of the options were exercised.

New York -- Inditex’s home-décor concept Zara Home said Tuesday it is unveiling Zarahome.com in the U.S. on Tuesday.

The new e-commerce site will feature home textiles as well as select furniture, tableware, cutlery and decorative accessories.

Zara Home currently operates in 32 countries with more than 325 stores and offers e-commerce in 18 countries.

Rockford, Mich. -- Wolverine Worldwide said Tuesday it will complete its previously announced acquisition of Collective Brands' Performance + Lifestyle Group, which consists of the Sperry Top-Sider, Saucony, Stride Rite and Keds brands, for $1.24 billion.

The banners will become Wolverine’s largest operating group, adding more than $1 billion in revenue to Wolverine’s existing stable of brands such as Merrell and Hush Puppies.

Commerce, Calif. -- Discounter 99 Cents Only said Tuesday it has launched an official search for a retail property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., to open its first store on the iconic street.

"We are confident a Rodeo Drive store will be successful because our stores do well in affluent areas,” said Eric Schiffer, CEO. “In fact, our highest sales volume store is located only a few blocks from Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard.”

Of its 303 extreme-value stores in the U.S., 222 are in California.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity reported Tuesday that revenue for the fourth quarter dipped less than 1% to $128.5 million, but edged Wall Street’s expected $128.4 million in revenue for the period. Same-store sales climbed 2.7%.

The retailer, whose brands include A Pea in the Pod, Motherhood Maternity and namesake stores, said the revenue dip in the fourth quarter was due largely to the closure of underperforming stores and that it expects quarterly earnings to exceed guidance.