Corporate Governance

New York -- Dollar Tree and Dressbarn have named Charter Realty and Development as the exclusive broker in Connecticut.

Dollar Tree, a Fortune 500 company with approximately 4,700 stores looks for 8,000- to 12,000-sq.-ft. spaces. Dollar Tree is also looking for locations in freestanding strip malls and power centers.

The Sembler Company completed two major redevelopments during 2013. The company redeveloped the Nokomis Village Shopping Center in Nokomis, Fla., and Park 66 in Pinellas Park, Fla.

Anchored by a redeveloped Publix, which re-opened in mid-November, and Anthony’s Ladies Apparel, improvements to the 143,697-sq.-ft. Nokomis Village include building façade upgrades and landscaping. Inline tenants include Saltwater Café, New China Restaurant, Hot Nails, Ophelia’s Pasta and Subway.

Home improvement retailers are reaping the rewards of a healthier housing market and so is Williams-Sonoma. The company reported strong third quarter results and raised its fourth quarter outlook as a result.

Comparable brand revenue growth in the quarter increased 8.2% on top of 8.5% in the year-ago quarter. The company saw revenue growth across all its brands, but results were primarily driven by West Elm, which saw revenue jump 22.2% compared to 13% last year, and PBteen, which saw revenue jump 16.7%, compared to 2% last year.

Walnut Creek, Calif. – Retail merchandisers are expressing a pragmatic need for speed in future merchandising applications. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Merchandising Today: Benchmark 2013, 28%” top-performing retail “winners” are already investigating simplifying their IT environments with cloud-based merchandising technology.

San Jose, Calif. -- Propelics, a provider of enterprise mobile strategy and mobile apps, today announced strong adoption for its solutions in the retail market. The company said it helping such retailers as Family Dollar, Payless ShoeSource, and Hallmark as improve the customer, store associate, and store operations experience though the implementation of a solid enterprise mobile strategy.

Strong retail sales in the month of October point to a good holiday sales season ahead. According to the National Retail Federation, October retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 2.5% seasonally adjusted over September, and 4.2% unadjusted from 2012.

In a broader view, October retail sales released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, which include non-general merchandise categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations, and restaurants, increased 0.4% seasonally adjusted month-to-month, and 3.9% adjusted year-over-year.

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots will open at 7 a.m. Thanksgiving morning and 6 a.m. on Black Friday. The retailer will offer one-day special offers on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Saturday as well as three-day discounts.

In addition, on all three days, shoppers who spend $50 or more will receive a coupon worth $10 off their next purchase between Dec. 1 to Dec. 14.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples reported net earnings of $135.2 million for the third quarter ended Nov. 2, compared with a loss of $596.2 million a year earlier.

Sales fell to $6.11 billion from $6.35 billion as the retailer was challenged by soft demand for its products and closed stores in Europe and North America. Same-store sales in North America, excluding sales through Staples.com, fell 3%.