Corporate Governance

A less-than-merry holiday for department store retailers — including Penney
Poor holiday sales results from Macy’s, Sears, and Kohl’s do not bode well for the already embattled department store sector. And now J.C. Penney has reported its own disappointing results.
New owner for Flagstaff Mall in Arizona
The 388,000-sq.-ft. Flagstaff Mall has been acquired by Dallas-based Cypress Equities for an undisclosed sum. The single-level center opened with two anchors in 1979 and added a third anchor when it was expanded in 1987. Cypress plans to add three outparcel pads amounting to 18,000 sq. ft. to the former Woodmont property, and is exploring the conversion of select inline retail space to new uses. “It is our goal to establish Flagstaff Mall as the dominant retail destination in northern Arizona,” said Cypress CEO Chris Maguire.

Surprise — Gap had a happy holiday

Gap Inc. turned in a positive holiday performance, reversing a string of declines, fueled by strong results from its Old Navy division and improvements by its namesake unit. The apparel giant also boosted its guidance for the year. Gap’s net sales for the November and December holiday season edged up 1% compared to the year-ago period. Total same-store sales rose 2%.
Report: Walmart Canada settles dispute with Visa

A six-month battle between Walmart Canada and Visa has come to an end. The retailer, which threatened to ban the card processor from all of its stores nationwide due to “unacceptably high” credit-card transaction fees, has ended its feud, and will resume accepting Visa cards at its more than 400 stores starting Friday, Jan. 6.
New center set to rise in Richmond

A site near the entrance to Innsbrook Office Park in Glen Allen, Virginia, north of Richmond, has been slated as the home of Dominion Shoppes at Innsbrook, a project of Dominion GA, LLC. In a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield/Thalhimer, Dominion acquired the 2.4-acre tract from Doswell Properties for $2.9 million. The planned center is 100% pre-leased to tenants including Starbucks, Blaze Pizza, American Family Care, and Noodles & Company.
Sam’s Club CEO stepping down

The ranks of female retail CEOs is losing one of its highest-profile members. Rosalind G. Brewer, 54, has told Walmart she plans to retire as executive VP, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, effective Feb. 1, 2017. She will be succeeded by company veteran John Furner, 42, who joined Walmart as an hourly associate in 1993, effective Feb. 1. The news was announced in a filing by the chain.
Former Walmart executive joins Dollar Tree management team

Dollar Tree has appointed Duncan Mac Naughton as president and COO of its Family Dollar subsidiary. Mac Naughton, 54, most recently served as CEO of Mills Fleet Farm. He has held numerous leadership roles at Wal-Mart Stores, including chief merchandising and marketing officer of Wal-Mart U.S. from 2011 to 2014, executive VP of consumables health and wellness and Walmart.com from 2010 to 2011, and chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart Canada from 2009 to 2010.
2017 Survival Tips

Chief executives from leading retail real estate companies shed light on the new year’s most pressing challenges for their tenants
Be it in stores or on sites, the dollars are in the data

We sat down with chief executives and senior managers from 20 retail real estate companies at the ICSC New York National Deal Making show in December, and each and every one had something to say about e-commerce competition. Something, but not the same thing. They fell into two groups.
There were those who said that online retail’s magnitude was greatly overblown. They held that the media over-covered online sellers and placed them on a lofty perch not backed by the facts. They had a point.
SHOP TALK

Trending Stores:
Hazardous Waste Update

Retailers navigate shifting regulatory landscape amid a flurry of EPA involvement
The past decade has seen a monumental shift in regulatory oversight of retailers’ environmental compliance programs, forcing companies to adapt compliance solutions to the myriad of hazardous waste control laws impacting the retail sector.
Historically, most enforcement has been at the state and local level. But in late 2016, the industry witnessed a flurry of retail-related activity from the Environmental Protection Agency, including:
Lighting Transformed

LED options now exist for nearly every lighting application
When it comes to retail operating costs, energy is one of the top three expenses. Lighting is, of course, a component of this, accounting for 50% of energy costs for non-food retailers. The typical retail store spends roughly 71 cents per square foot per year — a cost that quickly adds up at the store and chain level.