Corporate Governance

With the holidays right around the corner, retailers are already setting up for the biggest shopping season of the year. This year, retail revenue for the holidays is expected to surpass $1 trillion, compared to last year’s total of $626.1 billion.   One of the many holiday preparations brands are making to deal with this influx is bulking up in-store resources. At least 700,000 short-term retail jobs are assumed to be added across the U.S. this holiday season, helping brands fill gaps in-stores and on the back-end.  

Who says you can’t go home again?   Certainly not Gap Inc., which appointed Jamie Gersch as the senior VP, chief marketing officer of its Old Navy banner, reported adage.com. She replaces Ivan Wicksteed, who left the company in March. She will come aboard at the end of October.  

One year later, retailers still await the promise of chip-card security.   The one-year anniversary of the Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) mandate is looming, yet delays by the card industry have left thousands of new chip readers unused and consumers with far less improvement in security than what was expected, according to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation.  

Shoppers at select West Elm stores will soon have their very own listening rooms — with state-of-the art sound speakers.   The home furnishings retailer announced a partnership with Sonos to sell the company’s sound speakers and components in its U.S. stores and website, and to install “Sonos listening labs” in 16 West Elm stores. The listening rooms will be outfitted with West Elm’s signature modern furnishings and accessories and Sonos home sound system products.   

Farm-and-ranch industry leader Tractor Supply has always been interested in the pet business, and it even operates two standalone HomeTown Pet stores in Tennessee.

Gilbert Bankston, who’s managed shopping centers for both Simon Properties and General Growth Properties joined Levin Management as VP of property management.   Ten of his 13 years in commercial property management were spent at GGP, where Bankston rose to senior general manager with a focus on maximizing net operating income. At Levin, he is charged with delivering best-in-class service in property management and maintaining positive tenant-landlord relationships.  

In response to public concern that wages at the low end of the pay scale were slow to rise, particularly for store managers and assistant store managers, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) updated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations defining which white collar workers must be paid overtime pay.     The DOL estimates that more than 4 million employees nationwide who are not currently paid overtime will now have to be paid overtime, and the majority of those will be employees of retail stores and restaurants. 

Specialty retailer Conn’s is preparing for its newest round of securitization.   Conn’s has entered into an agreement to securitize approximately $700 million of retail installment contract receivables, with an expected Oct. 6 closing. The face amount of the notes to be issued is $1.12 billion, with an advance rate of 77.5% of the outstanding customer receivables portfolio balance. This equates to approximately 89.5% of net book value at July 31, 2015.   

In addition to posting its earnings, Pier 1 announced a plan to protect the company from potential takeover bids.    On Tuesday, the home decor chain announced a “Rights Protection Agreement,” which will protect itself from any single shareholder seeking to acquire a 10% stake or more, as summarized in an article in MarketWatch.  

JLL has been selected to manage retail leasing for Woodmore Towne Center in Glenarden, Maryland, which is being expanded into a 245-acre mixed-use development.   Under construction at the location east of Washington D.C. off the Capital Beltway are 1,100 residential units, two hotels, and a million sq. ft. of office space. Expansion of the retail space, which has drawn Nordstrom Rack to the center, will bring it to a total of 800,000 sq. ft.