Strategy

Columbia, S.C. -- Edens & Avant announced it has appointed Peter Melmed as VP construction and development. 

Melmed will be based in Bethesda, Md., and will oversee the construction of large-scale development and redevelopments throughout the Edens & Avant portfolio.

Prior to joining Edens & Avant, Melmed was a real estate consultant at PJM Realty.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced that Greg Roth has returned to the company, serving as senior VP and market leader in South Florida.

A veteran of Staubach Retail Services (now SRS), Roth also served as director of retail investments for Archon Group and, most recently, was managing principal of LDR Realty Partners.

Washington, D.C. -- Combined Properties announced that Jessica Berets has joined the company as Assistant General Counsel. 

Berets will be responsible for drafting, negotiating and consummating a variety of legal documents, including lease agreements with tenants in the commercial retail real estate portfolio managed by Combined Properties, and providing advice and counsel to the company's leasing, construction and property management departments.
 

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores plans to expand its presence in the smaller cities of China, Ed Chan, CEO and president of the company’s China operations, said today at an investor meeting by video conference, Bloomberg reported.

The discounter may also buy more land to build stores in China, which it predicted will be the world’s largest grocery market by 2014, according to the report. Wal-Mart is building its seventh Sam’s Club outlet in the northeastern port city of Dalian, on the first plot of land it bought in the country.

New York City -- Hennes & Mauritz AB Thursday reported that its net profit in the first quarter fell 30% from a year earlier on “significantly higher” cotton prices, higher transportation costs and a stronger Swedish krona. The chain said profit in the quarter ended Feb. 28 fell to 2.62 billion Swedish kronor ($414 million).

Los Angeles -- Sony Electronics will unveil its newly branded Sony store on Friday, in Westfield Century City, Los Angeles. The 4,200-sq.-ft. store is designed to allow consumers to explore the complete Sony experience, including electronics, games, movies, music, network services and future technologies.

Profit grew by nearly 10% to $123.2 million and sales advanced 8.3% to nearly $2.3 billion, as Family Dollar remained on a consistent growth trajectory during its second quarter ended Feb. 27. Earnings per share for the period increased 21% to 98 cents compared with 81 cents in the second quarter the prior year.

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced that it welcomed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's commitment to complete final swipe fee reform regulations in time for retailers to begin offering customers discounts and other benefits this summer as scheduled.

HANGZHOU, China -- Gap Inc. is expanding its presence in China. The company announced that it has opened an online Gap store (gap.tmall.com) on Taobao Mall, the business-to-consumer platform within Taobao, China’s largest retail website. Gap's Taobao Mall store will offer a wide selection of stylish products from Gap, GapKids and baby gap, the company reported.

According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Home Depot executives received increases in compensation after the company's first annual sales gain in several years. 

CEO Frank Blake earned about $10.5 million last year, up by about $500,000, according to the article. Compensation packages of other top executives rose $100,000 or more.