Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

New York City -- Supermarket veteran Mike Gilliland, the founder, chairman and CEO of Sunflower Farmers Markets, was arrested after being charged in an undercover child-prostitution sting and has resigned, according to reports. Gilliland also was a founder of Wild Oats Market.

Chris Sherrell was named acting CEO following Gilliland’s resignation on Saturday, Sunflower Farmers Market said on its website. Gilliland also quit his post on the Phoenix-based Sunflower’s company's board of directors.’

New York City -- South Africa’s competition watchdog has recommended that Wal-Mart Stores’ proposed takeover of the country’s retail chain Massmart be unconditionally approved without conditions.

Wal-Mart made a $2.4 billion bid for Massmart in November, and a vast majority of the target company’s shareholders voted to approve the deal last month.

The deal now needs final approval from South Africa’s competition tribunal. A date for the hearing and subsequent ruling has yet to be set.

New York City -- Barnes & Noble invited Amazon.com's affiliates to join its program instead in an "open letter" Monday, as Amazon continues to oppose legislation that requires it to collect sales taxes in several states, the Associated Press reported.

New York City -- Borders Group may file for bankruptcy reorganization as early as Monday or Tuesday after failing to persuade publishers and others to go along with a plan to refinance the struggling chain's debt, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The retailer plans to initially close about 200 of its 674 stores, the report said, which cited unnamed sources.

New York City -- The Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights will allow a civil rights complaint over an online job application used by CVS Caremark Corp. to go forward, saying there is probable cause to believe the pharmacy chain violated state anti-discrimination laws, the Associated Press said.

The finding, released by the American Civil Liberties Union, allows the ACLU to sue the company.

New York City -- The California Supreme Court says merchants in the state can no longer ask credit-card customers for their ZIP codes, the Associated Press reported.

Crain’s New York Business this week reported on an interesting situation involving Walmart and the hype surrounding the company entry into the city. According to author Greg David, “as the opponents of Walmart continue their campaign to prevent the company from opening stores in New York, it remains a mystery how they intend to do that. David notes that the City Council has no power to intervene in leases signed at existing retail locations, and the company seems more determined than ever to take on the Big Apple.

Cost segregation is a bargain tax strategy for shopping center owners

By Eli Loebenberg, [email protected]