Strategy

Sauk Rapids, Minn. — The Mansour Group www.themansourgroup.com has closed on the sale of a Walgreens in Sauk rapids, Minn., in the St. Cloud metropolitan area, for $10.9 million.

Mansour had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a developer in Houston. The property generated multiple offers and sold to a 1031 California investor who needed a premium investment to meet the exchange needs.

Specialty beverage retailer BevMo! has appointed former Safeway executive Douglas J. Ratto as the company's EVP, chief merchant. Ratto will lead the buying, planning, allocations and distribution teams at BevMo!

Sunrise, Fla. — So far this year, 30 new retailers have signed into Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Fla.

The Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass Mills, the open-air promenade part of the property recently added a number of new-to-South Florida retailers, including Diane von Furstenberg, Gucci, Versace, Robert Graham, Ippolita, Wolford, Jimmy Choo, Frette, Roberto Cavalli and others.

Pleasanton, Calif. – The board of directors of Safeway Inc. has increased the authorized level of the company's stock repurchase program by $2 billion. Through the end of the third quarter of 2013, Safeway had approximately $800 million remaining under its previously authorized stock repurchase program.

Open Sky CEO John Caplan and his team at the social-based e-commerce platform are reinventing retail and what a career in the industry looks like in the digital age.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is reportedly testing a “hands-on” electronics department with a minimalist format that harkens back to Apple stores and brightly lit displays that encourage shoppers to try out sample consumer electronics products. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Target is testing the concept at stores in Brooklyn Park, Mankato, Ridgedale and the Quarry location in Minneapolis, as well as outside Minnesota.

New York -- Specialty beverage retailer BevMo! Named Douglas J. Ratto as executive VP, chief merchant. Ratto will lead the buying, planning, allocations and distribution teams at BevMo!

Ratto comes to BevMo! with more than 25 years of retail and marketing management experience. Since 2010, Doug served at Safeway as senior VP, GM of alcohol/tobacco, home care/general merchandise & family care.

It’s one down and more than 11,000 to go as Dollar General has opened its first ever fueling station at a store in Hanceville, Ala.

The pilot project is part of an agreement with Mansfield Oil, a provider of fuel supply, distribution, delivery, and dispensing solutions. The store in question is one of Dollar General’s larger format Market stores which include expanded food and consumables. Dollar General operates more than 11,000 stores nationwide, but slightly more than 100 units are in the Market format.