Corporate Governance

Leo A Daly announced that Mary Schaffer has joined the firm’s Minneapolis office as director of architecture. In this role, she oversees scheduling, staffing, mentorship, and quality review for the office’s architectural services.

Shaffer joins Leo A Daly from the University of Minnesota, where she helped manage capital projects and oversee all aspects of design and planning.

She was also principal design project-manager for Target Corporation, where she led retail and corporate projects in India and the United States.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- EDENS adds seven new retailers to its Union Planters Plaza located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. These openings follow the center's complete redevelopment which included the addition of a community green space.

A new project has the possibility of positioning Albertsons for greater growth as the company aims to expand by buying back some of the stores it unloaded last year as a result of a deal with Safeway.

Albertsons has announced it has completed a $4.8 million renovation of the company's Culinary Kitchens & Technical Center in California. The project, which was in development before the Albertsons-Safeway merger was announced, came to fruition this month in a 33,000-square-foot facility in Dublin, Calif., near the company's Pleasanton corporate campus.

A prolonged drop in gas prices is boosting hopes among retailers that consumers will spend more this holiday season.

According to the latest Consumer Fuels Survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), more than one in four (26%) consumers expect to increase their spending this month, a seven-point jump over the past month and the highest percentage this year. Last November, only 21% of consumers expected to increase their spending, according to the survey.

Nearly one-third of retailers surveyed by JLL say they plan to open on Thanksgiving Day in order to get a jump on Black Friday sales.

JLL’s 2015 Holiday Sentiment Report, which includes feedback from largely national or global retailers in JLL-managed shopping centers across the United States, also reveals more than half of those retailers expect an uptick in shopper traffic this year.

Home furnishings retailer Wayfair increased revenue and narrowed its loss in the third quarter thanks to what the company's CEO called "customer growth accelerating at a phenomenal pace."

Gift cards continue to grow in popularity – a fact especially noticeable now, during the holiday season. Retailers and consumers should be aware of problems gift cards can create – notably regarding money left unredeemed by card holders and what happens when an issuing company goes into bankruptcy.

 Any toy purchased at Meijer through Nov. 30 will help the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer grant a child's wish this holiday season.

Meijer is once again donating a portion of customer purchases made in the toy department, up to $400,000, to children's gift-giving programs throughout the Midwest.

Nearly one-third of retailers surveyed by JLL say they plan to open on Thanksgiving Day in order to get a jump on Black Friday sales.

JLL’s 2015 Holiday Sentiment Report, which includes feedback from largely national or global retailers in JLL-managed shopping centers across the United States, also reveals more than half of those retailers expect an uptick in shopper traffic this year.

The acquisition of Sheplers weighed on Boot Barn Holdings Inc. in the second quarter as the company reported flat same store sales.

Boot Barn said that for the second quarter ended Sept. 26, net sales increased 50% to $129.7 million; same store sales increased 0.1%; and net income was $1.2 million, or 4 cents per diluted share.