Events

The number of retail industry innovators on the agenda for Shoptalk now exceeds 230 and organizers of the event slated for mid-May aren’t done yet.

Unlike many of its department store peers, The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is not planning any major store closings. Instead, Penney CEO Marvin Ellison told Fortune that the company sees stores as an integral part of an omnichannel strategy that will include offering buy online pickup in store functionality in time for back-to-school season. [Fortune]

Toys “R” Us is adding some communications expertise from Best Buy as the toy retailer announced it has named a a new executive VP.

The retailer said Amy von Walter will join the company as executive VP, Global Communications and Public Relations, effective March 14. She will report directly to chairman and CEO Dave Brandon.

Macy’s is ushering in the spring promotional season by celebrating America'as vast and varied landscapes at the 2016 Macy’s Flower Show.

The show will sprout to life at five Macy’s downtown store locations nationwide, including Herald Square in New York City, Center City in Philadelphia, State Street in Chicago, Downtown Minneapolis and Union Square in San Francisco.

Pop-ups. They have become a phenomenon in several major cities. From pop-up shops that capitalize on holiday sales to pop-up restaurants that are impressing foodies from coast to coast, this trend is here to stay — even in traditional office buildings.

Philadelphia -- PREIT announced that its recent sale of Palmer Park Mall marked the ninth lower-productivity mall sold by the company since having announced its plans to divest non-core properties in late 2012. These properties generated average sales per sf of $254 at the time of sale. The company also has four additional malls under contract with significant non-refundable deposits. Pro-forma January 31, 2016 portfolio sales per square foot excluding the assets sold or under contract for sale are $451.

Sam Dushey took the reins of his family-owned business, discount department-store chain Shoppers World, when he was just 27. The company was founded by his grandfather, an immigrant from Syria, in the 1930s, and then expanded upon by Dushey’s father, uncle and cousin.

Kroger puts produce front and center at its new grocery store concept, Main & Vine, which also boasts a large bulk-bin area and an event center where cooking demonstrations take place. The store, in Gig Harbor, Washington, capitalizes on Kroger’s centralized buying and distribution power to keep prices affordable on produce and staples, according to the Columbus Dispatch. [Columbus Dispatch]