Real Estate

The Nov. 24 edition of SiteTalk invited readers to suggest what they thought would be most talked-about in the aisles of the International Council of Shopping Centers New York deal-making conference. Here is what one reader had to say:

 "I expect to hear people complimenting our new Roundtables (Tuesday, Dec. 7, 8-9 a.m.) at the Sheraton. Also, if Black Friday and the start of holiday shopping season match retailer expectations (as shown in our pre-holiday tenant survey), I expect to hear about more deals being made."

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp. on Monday lifted its earnings outlook for the year as fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 69% on continued growth in sales and margins.

The company reported earnings of $128.1 million in the latest quarter, compared with $75.6 million a year earlier. Net sales for the quarter ended Oct. 29 rose 10% to $3.22 billion and same-store sales increased 4.2%.

New York City -- Activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management raised its stake in Borders Group from 31.5% to 37.3% and is prepared to finance an offer by Borders to buy larger rival Barnes & Noble, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday.

According to the statement, Ackman is prepared to finance an offer by Borders to buy all of Barnes & Noble’s stock in an all-cash transaction valued at $16 per share, which would amount to about $960 million, based on the shares outstanding.

Houston -- Houston-based commercial real estate brokerage Baker Katz, an X Team partner, announced that it has acquired a former Hollywood Video building at Grogan’s Mill and Sawdust in The Woodlands, Texas. 

As part of an investment fund dedicated to real estate development, acquisition and ownership, Baker Katz purchased the 7,500-sq.-ft. building that is located near the area’s newest Wal-Mart Supercenter in The Woodlands, and plans to renovate and expand the building, subdivide it and re-lease the new spaces to individual tenants.

College Station, Texas -- Hobby Town USA recently opened a new 2,480-sq.-ft. store at Central Station, located in College Station, Texas.

Central Station is owned by New York City-based Centro Properties Group.

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust announced that infant furniture, accessory and clothing retailer giggle has joined the growing tenant roster at its Scottsdale Quarter project in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The new store, which opened Dec. 2, is giggle’s 13th store and first in the state of Arizona.

The giggle store will join other national tenants at Scottsdale Quarter, including Nike; Apple Store; A/X Armani Exchange; H&M, West Elm; and IPic Theaters.

New York City -- Forever 21’s massive Times Square flagship, a shop that sells ice cream made to order and frozen with liquid nitrogen, and a new beauty-and-wellness concept in Hong Kong are on a list of the hottest new stores around the globe.

The list comes from the folks behind the cutting-edge, London-based retail consultancy echochamber.com:

Cleveland -- Lord & Taylor and Forest City Enterprises on Friday announced that Lord & Taylor will open a new, 80,000-sq.-ft. store to anchor Westchester's Ridge Hill, Forest City's outdoor retail/mixed-use development, currently under construction in Yonkers, N.Y. This will be the first new, full-line Lord & Taylor to open since 2001.

The new location will showcase the retailer's latest store design and will offer a mix of the best fashion, accessories, beauty and fragrance brands, as well as gifts and home accessories.