Strategy

New York City -- Consumer spending rose less than forecast in October as Americans even as personal incomes showed the biggest gains in seven months.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that spending increased 0.1% last month, the poorest gain in four months. But incomes increased 0.4%, the best showing since March, with private wages and salaries driving the income gain.

Most economists had forecast spending to rise by 0.3% and income by 0.2%.
 

Tarrytown, N.Y. -- DLC Management Corp. said Tuesday that it has executed four new anchor deals over the last three-month period.

In Jonesboro, Ga., PJS Market will open an 80,160-sq.-ft. retail mini-mall at Tara Crossing Shopping Center, in a space vacated just four months earlier. This is PJS Market’s second location in Metro Atlanta and is expected to open by the end of the year.

New York City -- Aeropostale announced that Arthur Rubinfeld, president - global development for Starbucks Coffee Co., has been appointed to the Aeropostale board of directors.

Rubinfeld helped build the foundation of Starbucks as senior VP real estate from 1992 to 2002, and returned to the company in his current position in 2008.
 

The new year will see a changing of the guard in the chief executive’s office of several big retailers. Here are four to watch:

Costco
The torch has been passed at Costco Wholesale Corp., with president and COO Craig Jelinek stepping into the very big shoes of the company’s longtime chief executive and co-founder Jim Sinegal (effective January 1, 2012).

By Todd Feinman, CEO of Identity Finder

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. has promoted Casey Carl to the new position of president of multichannel, and to senior VP, merchandising, effective immediately.

Carl, 36, who joined Target in 1997, and most recently served as senior VP hardlines and as a co-lead on Target’s multichannel steering committee.

In his new role, he will oversee Target's mobile, social and Target.com and continue to lead the company's entertainment, toys, sporting goods and electronics business.

Waterford, Conn. -- Brixmor Property Group said that Motherhood Maternity has opened a 1,500-sq.-ft. store at Waterford Commons, located in Waterford, Conn.

Brixmor, based in New York City, owns Waterford Commons.

East Cleveland, Ohio -- Walgreens received GE Lighting’s Retailer of the Year award in recognition of the drugstore chain’s transition from F28 to F25 linear fluorescent lamps, a strategic move that enabled the company to achieve a 9% energy savings while also extending its re-lamp cycle — how frequently it changes bulbs — by 10%. The award was presented at GE’s third annual LED & Energy Efficient Lighting Trends for Retail conference, held at the lighting unit’s headquarters in East Cleveland, Ohio.