Corporate Governance

Washington, D.C. -- Madison Marquette announced that Brad Muth has joined the company as senior managing director, portfolio management. With more than 25 years of real estate investment experience, Muth will oversee portfolio management and asset management functions for Madison Marquette. He will be based in the San Francisco office.

Burlington, Mass. -- Talbots will open a new store on Jan. 30 at Wayside, in Burlington, Massachusetts, according to Wayside’s management and leasing firm The Wilder Companies.

The opening of the 9,300-sq.-ft. Talbots, which features all three of the brand’s concepts -- Talbots, Talbots Petites, and the first Talbot Woman in the market -- is part of a multi-phase revitalization that is nearing completion at the open-air retail center.

Walmart is hoping to increase the cash in in-store shoppers’ wallets this year by offering a new tax refund service.

Direct2Cash is a way for customers to collect their tax refunds in cash at stores this tax season. The service is an alternative for taxpayers who otherwise might get refunds via check or direct deposit.

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners has been retained by Delia’s Inc. to manage the sale of the 71 retail store leases following the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
 
A&G Realty is currently accepting bids thru February 2, 2015 to acquire the leases, which range from 3,000 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft. in key retail locations at some of the country’s top malls.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) has publicly expressed disappointment at the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement that it would not review an appellate court ruling on whether the Federal Reserve set a 2011 cap on debit card swipe fees higher than the level sought by Congress in legislation passed the year before.

Montreal – Canadian bookstore chain Indigo Books and Music Inc. has enhanced its implementation of XCCommerce’s Promotion Solution Suite across all its channels by rolling out the Central Coupon Module.

Michaels Companies Inc. had plenty to smile about during the 2014 holiday season -- its first holiday season since going public in June.

Net sales for the eleven-week period from Nov. 2 to Jan. 17 increased 3.5% and same-store sales increased 1.5% from the comparable prior year period. For the full fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, net sales are expected to be in the range of about $1.59 billion to $1.6 billion, with an expected increase in same-store sales ranging from 0.8% to 1.2%. Michaels expects operating income to be $286 million to $291 million.

Washington, D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will reportedly review a rule that allowed Whole Foods Market Inc. to block a shareholder proposal regarding director nominations. According to Bloomberg, the SEC said it will take another look at a regulation that lets public companies block proposals from shareholders if the company offers a similar proposal.