Corporate Governance

New York -- J. Crew Group Inc. reported a 42% decrease in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit amid higher costs. Net income fell to $5.92 million in the quarter, which ended Feb. 1., down from $10.2 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 6.7% to $686.2 million. Retail store sales rose 5% to $438.6 million and direct sales jumped 10% to $238.1 million

Same-store sales, which includes direct sales, rose 3%. Excluding a calendar shift, comparable-store sales increased 4%.

New York -- Loblaw Cos. Ltd.’s acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. has been approved by Canada’s Competition Bureau. The $12.4 billion (US$11 billion) deal is expected to close on March 28.

To win approval from the Competition Bureau, Loblaw agreed to sell 18 stores and nine in-store pharmacies.

Monterrey, Mexico -- Tiendas Soriana S.A. de C.V., Mexico’s second largest retail company, and Hanwha Q CELLS, a leading full-service solar power companies, announced a 20-year power purchase agreement for 31 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) solar power at 120 retail locations across Mexico that will create significant long-term energy savings for Soriana. Soriana operates more than 640 grocery and department stores.

Los Angeles — CBRE’s nation retail investment group has announced the sale of San Antonio’s Westover Marketplace Shopping Center on behalf of Coventry Real Estate Advisors. Inland American purchased the 242,664-sq.-ft. property for an undisclosed price.

The Class A regional power center resides inside the Westover Hills master-planned development. It is 93.4% occupied.

Burlington, Mass. — New England regional fitness company, Wow! WorkOut World has subleased an 18,474-sq.-ft. space at Pawcatuck Shopping Center in Pawcatuck, Conn. KeyPoint Partners negotiated the sublease on behalf of its client Stop & Shop.

Pawcatuck Shopping Center is a convenience-oriented center with a variety of local tenants and a Rite Aid pharmacy.

The KeyPoint Partners leasing team handles leasing for retail properties totaling nearly six million sq. ft.

Baltimore — The Cordish Cos. and the St. Louis Cardinals have announced that AT&T has joined Ballpark Village in St. Louis as the naming rights sponsor for the two-story seating deck atop Cardinals Nation. As part of a multi-year agreement, the Cardinals Nation ticketed deck will be known as the AT&T Rooftop.

Manassas, Va. — Don Lencho Cocina Mexicana has opened at Manassas Shopping Center in Manassas, Va., next to Xtreme Archery. This is the third Washington, D.C., area restaurant owned by the husband and wife team of Juarez and Karen Barroso. The couple also owns Guajillo in Arlington, Va., and Casa Oaxaca in Adams Morgan in Washington, D.C.

The Manassas Shopping Center retail store line-up includes Peebles, Hancock Fabrics, Advance Auto Parts, Tony’s New York Pizza and the Manassas School of Dance.

New York — Specialty apparel retailer Express has opened a three-level 28,000-sq.-ft. store in the I. Miller building New York City’s Times Square.

“It’s Express on steroids,” said Michael Weiss, the chairman and chief executive officer of Express. “This is an elevated presentation where the homes for each category are much more defined.”

Plano, Texas – In a March 21 regulatory filing, J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said it does not expect the result of a lawsuit filed by Macy’s Inc. alleging that Penney was selling Martha Stewart Living products in violation of an exclusivity agreement to have a significant negative impact on its results.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack has opened its latest Manhattan concept store. The newly remodeled store is one of more than a dozen concept stores to open in Manhattan since RadioShack debuted the company's first concept store in July 2013.