Strategy

San Francisco -- Gap will enter the Italian outlet center market, opening a namesale store at the Vicolungo Outlet Center near Milan, on June 2.

New York City -- Regulators in South African on Tuesday approved Wal-Mart's 17 billion rand (about $2.4 billion) bid to buy a controlling share of Massmart Holdings Ltd. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa approved the deal on the condition that no job cuts take place for two years. It also requires the merged entity to give employment preference to 503 Massmart employees who lost their jobs.

Santa Ana, Calif. -- In follow-up to its prior announcement that it would explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale or merger, real estate services and investment firm Grubb & Ellis Co. said Tuesday that is exclusivity period with Colony Capital LLC, which had expressed interest in exploring a strategic transaction with Grubb & Ellis, ended on May 29. Grubb & Ellis said that, while it will continue its discussions with Colony, it will engage in additional discussions with other parties.

DENVER, Colo. and MONTREAL — Molson Coors Brewing Company has announced that Andrew Molson, the current vice chairman of the Molson Coors board of directors assumed the role of chairman, and Pete Coors, current chairman, assumed the role of vice chairman, effective May 26. 

It may have taken longer than originally thought, but competition authorities in South Africa cleared the way for Walmart to move forward with its acquisition of Massmart, the company announced Tuesday.

New York City -- Mom’s Organic Market has opened its seventh store, in Timonium, Md. Along with featuring 100%-certified organic produce, and organic and natural grocery products, the new Mom’s was built with the environment in mind.

"We believe that we are the most environmentally-responsible grocery chain in the country," said Scott Nash, who founded Mom's in 1987 with a $100 investment, in a report in The Gourmet Retailer.

Midwestern department store operator Gordman’s Stores was putting up some big numbers last year, and then in early August it decided to go public. Things are not looking quite as good of late, with first quarter comps weaker than planned and guidance for the remainder of the year lowered.

New York City -- Seattle’s Best Coffee LLC, a division of Starbucks Corp., has asked a bankruptcy judge to reject Border Group’s request to end the companies’ licensing agreement.

Borders is not entitled to cancel the agreement and continue to use Seattle’s Best’s trademarks and products, the coffee company said today in a court filing. Seattle’s Best also disputed Borders’s claim that terms of the agreement are excessive.