Corporate Governance

A little over one year since it acquired rival Family Dollar, Dollar Tree reported revenue that missed Wall Street expectations amid lower customer traffic.     Dollar Tree and other discounters are also feeling the impact of a recent change by some states regarding the criteria for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which has made thousands of households ineligible for benefits.      

The Michaels Companies, named Denise Paulonis as executive VP – CFO, effective Aug. 29. The appointment is part of the retailer’s previously announced CFO succession plan.   Paulonis, currently senior VP – finance, succeeds Chuck Sonsteby, vice chairman and CFO. He will continue to serve as vice chairman and will retain executive responsibility for the growth and integration of Lamrite West and the management of Aaron Brothers stores.    

CommerceHub, a distributed commerce network for retailers and brands, is expanding its existing partnership with Walmart, integrating directly with Walmart’s online third-party marketplace.   Under the new agreement, CommerceHub’s network of approximately 9,500 customers, including many of the largest retailers, marketplaces and brands in North America, will be able to team up with Walmart.com.    

The Summit at Fritz Farm has signed CRU Food & Wine bar to a growing roster of gourmet dining establishments at the $156 million project under construction in Lexington, Kentucky.   The Summit, scheduled to open next spring, will feature 1 million-sq.-ft. of retail, 306 apartments, a boutique hotel, and 48,000 sq. ft. of Class A office space, according to developer Bayer Properties.   

Target is taking its lighting to the next level. The retailer tapped Acuity Brands to provide Target stores with smart lighting technologies, featuring energy-saving LED fixtures and dimming controls. Target will be exclusively installing Acuity’s next generation, smart LED sales floor fixtures, along with its store accent lighting and distribution center site lighting.

Beauty and skin-care figure prominently in Kohl’s multi-year turnaround plan.   The retailer recently finished adding beauty departments to all its stores, the Dallas Morning News reported, and even managed to do it couple years ahead of schedule.  

High-quality, graphically interesting store barricades can turn an unsightly construction or remodeling site into a brand-enhancing billboard for a retailer. Chain Store Age spoke with Bob Putnam, the president and founder of Boston Barricade Company, about the evolving nature of retail construction barricades.
    
How have retail construction barricades changed over the years?

Thirty years ago, 98% of all retail barricades were constructed using metal framing and drywall. But today, that number is down to 35%.

More and more these days, shopping center developers find themselves in the role of town planner. Once dedicated to creating pleasant spaces for people to shop in, they now are challenged to create places for people to live, play, eat and be entertained in. Build that, they’re told, and shoppers will come. But droves of millennials fleeing suburbs in search of more fulfilling urban lifestyles are giving developers an assist. In some cases, they’re hewing their own downtowns out of rough old sections of town. In others, old downtowns are remaking themselves to welcome this new city stock.