Strategy

New York City -- Apparel designer Yigal Azrouel will open its first freestanding store, for its Cut25 lower-priced, younger collection, in the Soho South area of Manhattan.

Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group arranged a lease at 129 Grand Street, between Broadway and Crosby Street, for the new store. The opening date hasn’t yet been announced.

 

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Online, club, dollar, toy and consumer electronics retailers, as well as categories such as gift cards, technology, vacations and toys, will all perform well this season, according to Nielsen’s fourth-annual Holiday Shopping Sales Survey.

Across all income levels, only 5% of U.S. households plan to spend more this year, with affluent households (those earning $100,000 or more) leading the way.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 27 rose 24% to $20.9 million, compared with $16.8 million in the year-ago period.

Sales rose 10% to $331.5 million, beating Wall Street’s expectations of $321.9 million, and same-store sales surged 11%.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — HP announced that its board of directors has appointed Meg Whitman as president and CEO.

In addition, Ray Lane has moved from non-executive chairman to executive chairman of the board of directors, and the board intends to appoint a lead independent director promptly. These leadership appointments are effective immediately and follow the decision that Léo Apotheker step down as president and CEO and resign as a director of the company, the company reported.

The fashion blogosphere have been overrun with complaints about how Target botched the launch of its latest and exclusive limited-time collection, Missoni for Target. And shoppers across the nation have taken to Facebook, Twitter and other sites to share their frustrations. The folks who seem to be the most put-out are those that ordered goods online. After experiencing long delays and going through any number of hurdles before they were even able to place an order, many are now being told that their orders will be delayed or, even worse, cancelled.

CINCINNATI — Kroger announced that it has become a member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Million Dollar Club.

According to Kroger, membership into the USHCC Million Dollar Club, is awarded to corporations who have spent between $25 million to over $500 million with Hispanic suppliers, in the previous year.

This is Kroger's second consecutive year of qualifying for membership. The company was inducted in the $250 to $500 million annual expenditure category.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners said Friday that it has named Mark Kapnick senior VP in the firm’s New York office.

Kapnick will join SRS’ newly formed SRS Urban team, which focuses on the major urban retail markets in the United States. In the Metro New York market, he will help lead the SRS Urban push into landlord services and investment sales.

Kapnick was previously with Robert K. Futterman and Associates, first as director then senior managing director specializing in retail leasing and investment sales.
 

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Northgate Mall in CBL’s hometown of Chattanooga, for $11.5 million in cash.

The mall was listed for sale through an online auction. CBL anticipates closing on the transaction by Oct. 6.