Corporate Governance

New York -- Thor Equities has signed a contract to acquire a prime retail and office property at 102 Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris. “102 Avenue des Champs-Elysees is at the center of one of the most desirable locations in the world, just blocks from the Arc de Triomphe and Place Charles de Gaulle,” said Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities.  “We continue to believe strongly in the Paris retail market, in particular prime shopping and tourist destinations such as the Champs-Elysees and Boulevard Haussmann.”
 

Mobile, Ala. -- JLL announced the expansion of its platform in Alabama with the addition of Shannon Tyndall and Allen Garstecki. Tyndall and Garstecki join JLL as VPs, and bring more than 20 years of combined experience to the firm. They will be based in the firm’s Mobile office, bolstering the existing practice that JLL built last year when it added Gulf Coast Retail Brokerage lead Josh Burmeister and VP Buff Teague.

The team provides retail and office expertise throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle.

Memphis, Tenn. -- Fred's announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire EntrustRx, a specialty pharmacy operation that has a strong regional presence in the Southeast, as well as the single Reeves-Sain retail pharmacy in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. EntrustRx, which is licensed in all 50 states, dispenses specialty pharmaceuticals to treat complex conditions and diseases that typically require ongoing support for extensive periods of time.

By Neil Axler

“You can’t get your nails done online, you can’t get dry cleaning done online and you can’t eat the Internet.” These are the dominant themes from retail clients (property owners) over the last few years. Today’s shopping center acquirers are looking for “necessity centers” with a stable rent roll. These centers consist of restaurants, nail salons and other destination retail that is not competing with e-commerce.

By Stephen Metivier, TD Bank

Canton, Mass. -- Destination XL Group Inc. grew sales and margin and swung to a profit in its fourth-quarter, reporting net income of $1.6 million, after a $55.1 million loss in the same period a year earlier. It also announced plans to open 40 DXL stores in 2015.

The retailer of men’s big and tall apparel reported revenue of $119.6 million in the period. Sales per square foot in DXL stores rose 10% to $165. Total same-store sales increased 8.9%.

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea announced plans to install a fuel cell system at its location in Emeryville, California. Consistent with the retailer’s focus on emerging energy technologies, is the first Ikea in the world to convert biogas into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process. The fuel cell system will be installed, commissioned and activated by this summer, 2015.

Ikea contracted Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, California, for the design, development and installation of the fuel system.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters is expanding its global retail presence with a series of licensed stores throughout Chile and Peru, building on existing growth markets throughout the region, including Colombia, Panama and the Caribbean, as well as company owned stores in Mexico.

The company has signed a multi-year license agreement with Eurofashion Limitada, a leading Chilean company and division of the Cencosud S.A. Group specialized in developing national and international fashion brands.

Duluth, Ga. -- NCR Corp. announced that NCR Government Systems will modernize operations for the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). DeCA’s Enterprise Business Solution (EBS), built upon NCR’s software solutions, will help to transform DeCA’s mission-critical retail systems and provide industry-leading capabilities that optimize its operations from warehouse replenishment through to the point-of-sale, along with customer loyalty management and payment solutions.

Sam’s Club’s newest credit card program has been recognized as an innovator in the fast-changing world of payment technology.

Sam’s Club’s 5-3-1 card earned a Gold Medal in the Best Comeback Story category in the PYMNTS.com 2015 Innovator Awards.