Events

PLANO, Texas — Tostitos surprised 28 U.S. military veterans who have previously served overseas with a special homecoming celebration.

New York -- Best Buy Co. on Friday said it agreed to extend the deadline to Feb. 28 for founder Richard Schulze to make a bid for the company.

The company said it is in the best interest of shareholders to let Schulze and his partners include results from the holiday season in their due diligence review.

Cargo volumes at U.S. ports are forecast to increase 3.9% this month following a 5.6% decline in November. That’s the good news, but now retailers and suppliers have to worry about the possibility of a strike at East coast ports.

The strike by workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach negatively affected container volumes in November, but resolution of the strike after eight days meant disruption in December was limited to just two days, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report compiled by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports reported Thursday that net income for the third quarter rose 3% to $23.7 million, compared with $23 million in the year-ago period. Results matched Wall Street expectations.

Revenue rose 11% to $424.5 million from $382.7 million, beating analysts’ expectations of $422.2 million in revenue. Same-store sales increased 7.9%.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. reported Wednesday net income for the third quarter of $1.7 million, compared with a loss of $4.8 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 22% to $284.2 million and same-store sales surged 29%.

The home furnishings retailer went public in November.

New York -- In a Tuesday night address at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke didn’t shy away from discussing the fiscal cliff, saying that the current debate is having a negative impact on consumer spending.

Purchase, N.Y. -- A SpendingPulse report released Wednesday by MasterCard Advisors in partnership with Wells Fargo found that spending at small retailers in November picked up a percentage point since October, showing a 5.2% year over year improvement.

This was enough to put its growth rate from October to November at 0.7%, more than the growth rate of total U.S. retail sales.

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Westfield announced that David Yurman and Miu Miu will open first-to-market stores at its Westfield Valley Fair property in Santa Clara, Calif. A new Prada boutique will open as well, joining other luxury retailers such as Burberry, Tag Heuer, Wolford, Mont Blanc, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Cartier.  

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Charter Realty & Development said it has leased 43,842 sq. ft. for an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the City Point Development in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema features an upscale theater-restaurant combination. City Point will have seven screens of new releases, repertory programming and the Alamo’s signature programming with seating for over 900 moviegoers.
 

Riverside, Calif. -- Chicago-based General Growth Properties announced it has named Jim Fuson as the new general manager for Galleria at Tyler, located in Riverside, Calif.

Effective September 2012, Fuson as general manager is responsible for the overall shopping center with primary focus on development, leasing, and increasing the value of the asset.  In addition, he will be overseeing the administration, operations, marketing, business development, capital improvements and the strategic plan developed for the center.