Corporate Governance

A shrinking net loss was the only positive result from the tough first quarter fiscal 2014 numbers posted by Caché. Net loss shrank to $10.8 million from $17.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Caché’s net sales dropped 11% to $47.4 million, from $53.5 million. Same-store sales declined 8.9%, with the shift in Easter contributing. Jay Margolis, Caché’s chairman and CEO, tried to strike an encouraging tone.

Build-A-Bear Workshop has appointed Michael Shaffer to the company’s board of directors.

Shaffer will serve as chairman of the audit committee and a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee. With Shaffer’s appointment, the board has eight members, six of whom, including Shaffer, are deemed independent by the board under New York Stock Exchange rules and other applicable regulations.

Sports Authority has partnered with the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the largest private funder of melanoma research, to raise skin cancer awareness and funds to support studies aimed at its treatment and cure.

This is the fourth consecutive year Sports Authority has participated in and supported the effort.

With 474 locations across 43 states and Puerto Rico, Sports Authority is supporting an extensive outreach campaign this month to coincide with Melanoma Awareness Month.

Purchase, N.Y. -- After several months of sluggish retail sales, consumer shopping in the U.S. rebounded in April, according to the latest MasterCard SpendingPulse report, which aggregate national retail sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with estimates for all other payment forms, including cash and check.

New York -- The United Kingdom’s Selfridges was named ‘Best Department Store in the World’ for the third consecutive time by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS). The award was given at the group’s Global Department Store Summit, which was held last week. The event is held every other year.

Selfridges was in competition for the award with Macy’s and the German retailer Breuninger.

Milford, Ohio — Slate Properties has acquired Mulberry Square in Milford, Ohio, part of the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. Slate paid $15.6 million for the 146,730-sq.-ft. community center, which is anchored by Kroger, Petco and Planet Fitness. Inline tenants include Steak and Shake, Hallmark, H&R Block, GNC and The UPS Store.

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. in cooperation with NAI Bergman represented the seller, a private real estate investment firm, in the transaction.

Westminster, Colo. — The Westminster Economic Development Authority and the city of Westminster, Colorado, have entered into an agreement with OliverMcMillan to redevelop the 105-acre site of the former Westminster Mall.

Atlanta — CBL & Associates Properties has closed the sale of Lakeshore Mall to a private investor for $14 million. JLL brokered the transaction.

Belk, Bealls, Kmart, J.C. Penney and Carmike Cinema anchor the 490,086-sq.-ft. retail center in Sebring, Florida. A nearby Sears is a shadow anchor.

With its 95% occupancy rate, Lakeshore Mall anchors the retail hub that serves central Florida along U.S. Highway 27, the major north-south thoroughfare. Traffic counts average about 38,500 vehicles per day.

Woodland Hills, Calif. — NewMark Merrill Companies has announced that Heather Danko and Danielle Bovard have received the Certified Marketing Director designation from the International Council of Shopping Centers.

The CMD designation is awarded for expertise in multiple disciplines including marketing management, research, marketing plan implementation, public and community relations, advertising, and media buying.

By Jim Darragh, CEO, Ipanema Technologies