Events

Hollywood, Fla. -- A.R.E. (Association for Retail Environments) has appointed Todd Dittman executive director, succeeding Klein Merriman, who will retire in August. In this role, Dittman, a marketing and finance executive with more than 20 years of experience, will lead A.R.E. and manage Pave, the industry educational foundation, and the Retail Design Institute, working with each organization’s volunteer officers and boards of directors. The appointment is effective Aug. 1.

Abilene, Texas -- Sam’s Club will open a 136,000-sq. ft. relocated club today in Abilene, Texas. Mayor Norm Archibald and the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Redcoat Committee are scheduled to attend the grand opening.

New York -- Buffalo Wild Wings has leased its first Midtown Manhattan location in Times Square, according to Winick Realty Group.

The 15,000-sq.-ft. flagship restaurant includes a 5,000-sq.-ft. ground floor with 22-ft. ceilings, a 2,000-sq.-ft. mezzanine, two lower levels and a 2,000-sq.-ft. roof deck for outdoor dining.

Highland Park, Ill. -- Landmark Theatres will re-open its remodeled five-screen Renaissance Place Cinema in mid-July.

The extensive renovation added a full-service bar and lounge, new seating and sound systems that include hearing loop technology, which wirelessly transmits sound from films to hearing aids with telecoils.

Boston -- A report by the Boston Globe revealed that the fate of Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas lies in the hands of the grocery chain’s board of directors, as members are posted to fire Demoulas at a meeting of the board next week.

A longtime family feud has split the board in two, and both sides of the family-owned Demoulas Super Markets Inc. will face off in a meeting on Thursday, July 18, to determine whether or not Demoulas will be removed from office.

A social shopping list app called Divvy was chosen from among more than 76 entrants who participated in innovative exercise in crowd-sourced digital development conducted by Target and Fast Company.

The Divvy app was created by a New York-based group that called itself Team Pilot and received a $75,000 prize for their effort. The Divvy app which is designed to improve the group shopping experience by allowing multiple users to update a shopping list in real time while making it easier to split the bill and distribute receipts.

Minneapolis  -- Target has announced the winner of the $75,000 grand prize in its Retail Accelerator contest: a mobile retail concept called “Divvy.” Jointly promoted by Target and Fast Company, the Retail Accelerator competition was designed to foster digital innovation in retail by challenging developers to build a new mobile experience for Target.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th announced that it plans to open a new store in Atlanta, Georgia on July 18.

The 28,000-sq.-ft. store will be located in the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta at Woodstock.

The store will be the third Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th in metropolitan Atlanta, but will be the first store to be modeled after the company’s “luxury-in-a-loft” store design, which highlights the merchandise and facilitates easy shopping.

West Bridgewater, Mass. -- Shaw’s plans to close six stores operating under its namesake banner by Aug. 3. The locations targeted for shuttering include four stores in the Massachusetts towns of Fall River, Fairhaven, Stoughton, and Taunton and two stores in the Rhode Island towns of Westerly and Woonsocket.

Olympia, Wash. -- Total Wine & More will open its 96th wine and spirits superstore in Olympia, Wash., on July 18. With over 21,000 sq. ft., the store will offer more than 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers.

The store also houses iPad stations stocked with tasting notes and food pairings, flat screen televisions running programs about winemakers, distillers and brewers and a walk-in humidor. In addition, a classroom provides space for tastings, classes and community meetings.