Corporate Governance

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will reportedly decide how it will proceed with retail plans in India this month. According to Reuters, Wal-Mart’s Indian partner Bharti Enterprises will decide if it wants to continue working with Wal-Mart based on those plans.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings Corp. has borrowed $1 billion under a new a senior secured term loan facility under an existing credit agreement from April 2011. The existing credit agreement continues to provide for a $3.275 billion asset-based revolving credit facility.

Last month, Sears said it would obtain the loan to help reduce how much money it borrowed under the existing credit facility. The new loan is due June 2018.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW, Inc. is opening four new stores on Oct. 10. The stores will be located in Muskegon, Mich., Rochester, Minn., Boardman, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn.

Customers will be eligible to participate in DSW Rewards, a free loyalty program in which customers earn certificates toward future DSW purchases and receive special member-only offers. Customers can also participate in the Shoe Lover community on Facebook to receive exclusive offers and giveaways.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts plans to develop three new restaurants throughout northern Colorado, in the surrounding areas of Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Windsor, and Estes Park. The first restaurant is expected to open in 2015 and the remainder by 2017.

New franchisees Doug Patterson and Cameron Stapleton signed a multi-unit development agreement. Stapleton will manage and oversee the company's daily operations for each restaurant. Franchise opportunities in the state are still available in Colorado Springs.

New York - Fairway Group Holdings Corp., the parent company of Fairway Market, is opening a 65,000-sq.-ft. store in Nanuet, N.Y., on Oct. 10.

"We're excited to make our newest home at this premier shopping destination in Nanuet and are also very pleased to be creating more than 300 new jobs in the area," said Charles Santoro, Fairway Market's executive chairman.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma, will open a store in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, Oct. 10. The 8,000-sq.-ft. store is located in The Summit Birmingham shopping center.
 

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is opening its first store in Maricopa, Ariz., on Oct. 10. The new store is approximately 11,615 sq. ft. and will feature a perishable food department, including produce, dairy and frozen foods.

99 Cents Only currently operates 331 retail stores consisting of 238 stores in California, 44 in Texas, 32 in Arizona, and 17 in Nevada.
 

Across America, big-box centers are powering back up

Power centers have proven themselves to be a resilient asset class in recent years. First the recession cut into business. Then e-commerce leveled some of their big-box tenants, hurt others and ignited a downsizing trend.

Yet research from Washington, D.C.-based CoStar Group shows that only 2% of power centers have vacancy rates of 40% or higher and probably won’t recover. Another 6% have vacancy rates of 20% to 40% and are in serious condition but may recover.

Mixed-use development works for trade areas where demand matches each use

Different developers look at mixed-use in different ways. One developer will look for trade areas that provide solid demand for retail, residential, office and perhaps other uses. The goal is to create developments where no single use dominates the others.

Still other developers gauge the demand for various uses and adjust the use offerings to match demand. In such cases, one use may dominate the center.

The Trademark approach to demand

A survey of 87 retailers conducted by Pacific Gas & Electric found many are unhappy with their lighting and are considering LED lighting to save energy. But, at the same time, they lack sufficient information to evaluate products.