Corporate Governance

Retailers: Detroit wants you! (And you should want Detroit.)
Detroit is one of the most encouraging and intriguing stories to develop in the wake of the Great Recession. With investment, development, and redevelopment booming downtown, office and multi-family momentum has spurred a retail revival. The Motor City is revving its retail engine and is well on the way to arriving as a true retail destination for the first time in decades.
Myrtle Beach power center expansion is underway
An official from the town of North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina is looking forward to more jobs and tourist income from the expansion of a shopping center in the beach resort area. RealtyLink, a developer of power centers in the Southeast and Midwest, is about halfway done with its phase three expansion of the Coastal North Town Center & Village Shoppes on Highway 17. The 147,000-sq.-ft. addition will take the center size beyond 540,000 sq. ft.

Bakery-café chain looks to double its store count

La Madeleine, the country French-inspired bakery-café, is turning to a new growth strategy that includes selling its corporate owned stores to fast track its expansion.
Five changes Macy’s incoming CEO wants to make in the stores

Jeff Gennette, who is set to take the reins of Macy’s Inc. from longtime chief executive Terry Lundgren in approximately one week, gave some hints of how Macy’s store experience is likely to evolve.
Men’s grooming concept plans aggressive expansion in Texas

Hammer & Nails Grooming Shop for Guys, a new franchise that bills itself as the lone male grooming option, is set to open its first 50 locations in Texas. Dallas and Houston shops are due by summer, and eight more are expected to be operating in the state by year’s end.
Confirmed: Walmart acquires another online retailer

Walmart continues to grow both its e-commerce and fashion presence. On Friday, the discounter announced it had acquired the assets and operations of online retailer ModCloth, which specializes in eclectic and quirky apparel and accessories for 18- to 35-year-old women. The company did not reveal the purchase price.
Apple opening three new stores in March

Apple will be busy on March 25. The company will open three new stores on that day, including a flagship at Brickell City Center, a new mixed-use development in downtown Miami. It will be Apple’s fifth location in the Miami area. The new Miami store will have 13-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, and a forum space with an oversized video display, according to TechCrunch.
RetailNext: Stores not dead but do need to be reinvented

Despite the growth of online shopping, brick and mortar stores are still critical to retail success. “Retail stores are not dead,” said Shelley E. Kohan, VP of retail consulting at RetailNext Inc. “The retailers who continue to embrace change in their business models will be well positioned for today and in the future."
Tiffany shines on demand from Asia

A strong performance in Asia helped Tiffany & Co. beat fourth quarter expectations even as sales as its U.S. stores sagged. The luxury jeweler reported net income of $157.8 million, or $1.26 per share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with $163.2 million, or $1.28 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for asset impairment costs, per-share earnings were $1.45, beating the per-share earnings of $1.37 that industry analysts had expected.
Penney details stores marked for closing

The ax has fallen: J.C. Penney has released the list of 138 stores it plans to close.
JLL names new West Coast leasing VPs

Jones Lang LaSalle has announced the hiring of two new vice presidents to handle leasing of third-party-managed retail properties in West Coast markets.
Report: Amazon set to offer Chinese sellers air cargo shipment option

Amazon is making its next global logistics move. The online retailer plans to enable its Chinese sellers to fly their goods internationally as air cargo, according to MarketWatch.