Corporate Governance

Washington, D.C. — DC Homevet has leased a 4,400-sq.-ft. location in Brookland Plaza in Washington, D.C.’s northeastern quadrant. DC Homevet will operate District Veterinary Hospital and Concierge Medicine Center. The Center will provide medicine, surgery, concierge and specialized services primarily for dogs and cats.

Divaris Real Estate, the property’s leasing agent, represented the landlord, Jan and Anna Slamen Family Trust in the transaction.

New York -- Rwanda, Nigeria, Namibia, Tanzania and Gabon occupied the top five places of the first-ever A.T. Kearney African Retail Development Index (ARDI), a new study designed to help large, organized retailers determine where and how to best enter Sub-Saharan Africa's rapidly growing retail market. The ARDI not only identifies the markets in Africa most attractive for retail expansion today, but those that offer the most potential in the future.

Ridgefield, Conn. -- Schimenti Construction Company is in the midst of building its first project for Canadian fashion apparel retailer Aritzia. Located at The Westchester in White Plains, New York, the new Aritzia store is a 5,520-sq.-ft new build-out in a premier shopping location.

Aritzia’s stores are all designed individually, with no two looking the same, but each has a sophisticated lounge-like atmosphere that boasts high-quality natural materials and luxurious finishes.

Dallas -- Greenway Investment Co. has acquired Denton Town Center in Denton, Texas, from a family trust represented by the Dallas office of Transwestern. Dollar-Flowers Realty Partners represented Greenway.

Queens, N.Y. — A CVS Pharmacy and The Boulevard, a new family restaurant, have leased space in the Francis Lewis Boulevard Shopping Center in the Whitestone section of Queens, N.Y.

The CVS transaction is a lease renewal for an existing 13,500-sq.-ft. pharmacy. The Boulevard has taken 4,000 sq. ft. and plans to open by the end of March.

The Francis Lewis Boulevard tenant lineup also includes McDonalds, First Savings Bank, Kumon and Aphrodite Sweets.

New York -- Organizational, operational and technology challenges are hampering retailers' efforts to meet customers' demand for a seamless shopping experience across all channels and touchpoints. According to a new research study from Accenture and Hybris Software, retailers view omni-channel maturity as a key brand differentiator for their companies, and improving their ability to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience across all channels as a top priority.

Denton, Texas – Fewer than 25,000 customer credit card numbers may have been exposed in a recent security breach at Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. The retailer said in a statement that an investigation by Verizon indicates credit card data may have been taken by hackers.

Hong Kong – Chinese e-commerce platform provider Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is reportedly planning a U.S. initial public offering (IPO). According to Bloomberg, Alibaba has received approval from Hong Kong regulators for its proposed governance structure.

Birmingham, Ala. – Net income and sales declined at Hibbett Sports Inc. during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Net income dropped 13% from $19.6 million in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year to $16.4 million, while net sales inched upward 0.2% to $217.8 million from $217.4 million.

Same-store sales rose 1.7% during the quarter. Hibbett Sports cited slowing sales in January due to inclement weather and a less favorable sales impact from the national college football championship game as impacting net income.