Corporate Governance

Hy-Vee helps fight cancer, childhood obesity with kids' triathlons
Hy-Vee has partnered with the Pinky Swear Foundation to sponsor several Hy-Vee Pinky Swear Kids Triathlons in cities across the Midwest. The partnership will help with the foundation’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for the families of children who are suffering from cancer.

Hy-Vee is collaborating with the foundation to bring youth triathlons to several of the communities it serves. In summer 2016, races will be held in Des Moines, Minneapolis, Chanhassen, Omaha, the Quad Cities and Kansas City.
Walmart cardholders to get cash rewards
Walmart is launching a new tool to give shoppers more reasons to use their Walmart credit and prepaid cards.

The retailer is rolling out a new, simplified rewards program to bring more value to the everyday purchases customers make using the Walmart family of credit and prepaid cards. Walmart's new 3-2-1 Save cash back program will provide all qualifying cardholders in the U.S. and Puerto Rico with the opportunity to earn rewards for purchases they make, including:

No bonuses or pay hikes for Macy’s execs

Macy’s CEO and other top executives are feeling the pain of the chain’s disappointment financial performance in 2015.

The board decided to award no bonuses after the chain fell short of its sales, cash flow and earnings goals, Macy’s said in a regulatory filing, according to Bloomberg.

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Momofuku to be part of Manhattan Seaport transformation

New York -- The Howard Hughes Corp. announced that The Momofuku Group will open a new restaurant concept in the revitalized Seaport District in Lower Manhattan.
PREIT Sells four non-core malls for $92.35 million

Philadelphia -- PREIT announced it has completed the sale of four additional non-core malls. This is a milestone achievement for the company that signifies the near-completion of non-core mall disposition effort with one remaining mall being marketed for sale.

Mall disposition transactions include:
• Lycoming Mall in Pennsdale, Pennsylvania, anchored by J.C. Penney, Sears, Bon-Ton and Macy's sold for $26.35 million.
Mid-America Real Estate promotes Alan Young to principal

Minneapolis -- Mid-America Real Estate – Minnesota named Alan Young as principal of the company.
Now Trending: Apparel Confusion

“Now Trending” is an exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

For retail analysts and consumers alike, what’s going on in the apparel sector is fascinating and, in fact, confounding. While the root causes may not seem exactly crystal clear, the implications will be clear and unambiguous.
Study: Chip cards show impressive growth

Six months after the Oct. 1, 2015 deadline for migration to the Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) chip-based payment card standard, retailers and consumers are demonstrating a fast rate of adoption.

According to new data MasterCard has released on usage rates of its EMV-compliant payment cards, 67% of U.S.-issued MasterCard-branded consumer credit cards now feature chips. This represents a 51% increase in the number of consumer credit cards with chips in market since the Oct. 1, 2015 liability shift.
Retail CEOs are most worried about…

When it comes to what keeps retail CEOs up at night, put exchange rate volatility and over-regulation at the top of the list.

That’s according to PwC’s 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, which explores top business concerns of retail and consumer product CEOs.

Of the many different political, social and economic risks businesses face, those that concern retail sector CEOs the most are over- regulation (37% are extremely concerned), exchange rate volatility (36%), an increasing tax burden (33%), and social instability (29%).
Uniqlo looking to ‘Master’ sportswear retail

When the Masters golf tournament gets underway next week one of the sport’s highest profile players will be sporting apparel co-created with Uniqlo.

The global fast fashion retailer teamed up with Australian golf Adam Scott to develop and help promote a line of affordable sportswear including pants and shirts. Scott won the Masters in 2014 and is heading into the high profile tournament scheduled for April 7-10 among the favorites.
Timberland expands in London with sixth location

A cobbler station and lace customization are key elements of Timberland’s newest store in London.

The new 1,000-sq.-ft. location on Oxford Street, one of London’s busiest shopping streets, will stock footwear and accessories for men, women and kids. The opening gives Timberland, a VF Corp. brand, six locations in London. It is part of a move by Timberland to connect with a wider audience and younger consumers on the brand’s quest to become the largest and most sustainable lifestyle brand on Earth, according to the company.
Bedding retailer names new execs to revive growth

Select Comfort, operator of 490 Sleep Number stores, named several executives to key new roles following a supply chain disruption that cause fourth same-store sales to plummet 30%.

Select Comfort named Suresh Krishna to the role of senior VP and chief operations, supply chain and lean officer, effective April 11. He will report directly to CEO Shelly Ibach and assumes responsibilities previously held by Kathy Roedel. She served as executive VP and chief services and fulfillment officer and will retire effective April 7.