Corporate Governance

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Monday launched its national Retail Employees with Disabilities Initiative, an in-store training program designed to help people with disabilities gain retail and customer service skills that works closely with community organizations and vocational rehabilitation agencies to train and develop candidates.

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group announced that Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th will open a total of seven new stores in the next two years in its Premium Outlets division, including new centers and existing centers.

Mamaroneck, N.Y. -- Charter Realty & Development said that it has arranged a 2,400-sq.-ft. lease for Smashburger in Mamaroneck, N.Y., within walking distance of the Metro-North train station.

Peter Levine of Charter Realty & Development represents Smashburger in Westchester, Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford Counties.
 

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced that it has named Dafna Nadulek as a senior associate in the company’s South Florida office.

She will focus on developing SRS Urban and tenant representation.

For a decade prior to joining SRS, Nadulek owned and operated her own shoe and accessory boutiques in New York City.

As retail real estate professionals from around the world prepare for the annual RECon convention in Las Vegas, it seems pretty clear to me that the anticipation for this year’s event is on the rise. This is a noticeable change from some recent years, where the recession eliminated any enthusiasm we once saw in the “glory days.”

As part of Chain Store Age’s lead-up coverage to RECon 2012, to be held May 20-23 in Las Vegas, we talked with Forest City’s Joseph Boehm about what his expectations are for the big real estate show. Visit Forest City’s booth at RECon, Central Hall, C10 Union Street.

What are your expectations for RECon 2012 in terms of activity, attitude, priorities?

New York -- Manhattan-based ATCO Properties & Management said it has acquired a Whole Foods retail location in Mill Valley, Calif., for $17.3 million.

Situated within the Alto Shopping Center on Mill Valley’s North side, the 23,200-sq.-ft. store opened a year ago and has established itself as one of the chain’s best performers, according to ATCO senior VP Damon Hemmerdinger.

Dallas -- Venture Commercial said that LA Fitness has signed a long-term lease to open a 45,000-sq.-ft. facility in Garland, Texas.

The sports club will build a prototype building on the site of the former Mervyn’s building, which is being razed.
 

Fort Worth, Texas -- Customer analytics firm Buxton announced it will officially launch the latest version of its real estate and analytics platform at the International Council of Shopping Centers RECon show in Las Vegas later this month.

SCOUT 3.0 is a cloud-based, data visualization and analytics tool used by executives in the retail industry to execute real estate and marketing strategies. The platform includes dashboard capabilities for C-level executives to see performance across their entire organization via mobile/tablet technology.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- A “Live Help” feature, detailed information about products and services and access to personal account information are the three most important features consumers expect to find at a company’s website, according to an annual survey by Oracle. The company surveyed more than 3,000 consumers worldwide regarding their use of customer service channels including call centers, live chat, click-to-call and email.