Real Estate

Pittsburgh -- Dick’s Sporting Goods announced Tuesday that it will celebrate the grand opening of its tenth Alabama store, which opened at Jubilee Square in Daphne, Ala.

The chain’s celebration, spanning June 3-5, will feature appearances by college and professional football players and a professional bass angler, as well as a variety of giveaways.
 

Santa Ana, Calif. -- In follow-up to its prior announcement that it would explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale or merger, real estate services and investment firm Grubb & Ellis Co. said Tuesday that is exclusivity period with Colony Capital LLC, which had expressed interest in exploring a strategic transaction with Grubb & Ellis, ended on May 29. Grubb & Ellis said that, while it will continue its discussions with Colony, it will engage in additional discussions with other parties.

White Plains, N.Y. -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced Tuesday that Dick’s Sporting Goods has leased 58,750 sq. ft. at “The Source” in White Plains, N.Y.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods lease represents the first step of the redevelopment of the former Fortunoff store, directly adjacent to The Westchester Mall. “The Source” is also occupied by Whole Foods Market, The Cheesecake Factory, Morton’s, Destination Maternity and a planned Raymour & Flanigan.

The new store opened in April.

Westport, Conn. -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced that Gap has leased 17,448 sq. ft. at 125 Main Street in Westport, Conn.

The transaction represents a consolidation of all of Gap brands (Gap, Gap Kids, Gap Baby) into one location and a new long-term commitment to downtown Westport, according to SRS.

The landmark redevelopment of 125 Main Street is well underway with Gap, a planned expansion and long-term lease renewal with Brooks Brothers Women and additional retail and boutique office space.

New York City -- Regulators in South African on Tuesday approved Wal-Mart's 17 billion rand (about $2.4 billion) bid to buy a controlling share of Massmart Holdings Ltd. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa approved the deal on the condition that no job cuts take place for two years. It also requires the merged entity to give employment preference to 503 Massmart employees who lost their jobs.

San Francisco -- Gap will enter the Italian outlet center market, opening a namesale store at the Vicolungo Outlet Center near Milan, on June 2.

New York City -- The Tommy Hilfiger Group said Friday that it will begin selling men's clothing in 90 locations of The Bay, a Canadian department store.

Gary Sheinbaum, CEO of Tommy Hilfiger North America, said Canada's "robust economy and increasingly discerning fashion consumers" influenced the decision.

The company described the setup as a "shop-in-shop," encompassing about 500 sq. ft. The shop will open by November.

The company has a similar set-up in the United States with Macy’s.

MONTVALE, .N.J. — The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company announced that it recently completed the previously announced auction of 25 southern Superfresh locations, as it continues to fully implement its comprehensive financial and operational restructuring. The winning bids, which are subject to approval from the bankruptcy court before the sales would be completed, will be listed in motions of the company to be filed with the court on May 27.

 The winning bids are as follows:

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General announced its plans to expand its operations to California in 2012.

The California announcement comes on the heels of the company’s planned expansions into three new states in 2011 — Connecticut, Nevada and New Hampshire. California would be Dollar General’s 39th state.

The company said it plans to serve shoppers in rural, suburban and metropolitan markets.

Walmart CFO Charles Holley participated in the Citi Global Consumer Conference this past Tuesday, and he had the challenge of appearing just one week after Walmart released first-quarter results. Given the timing, it would have been reasonable to expect that he wouldn’t have a lot of new information to share, and while he certainly covered a lot of familiar ground, there was one area that stood out.