Real Estate

New York – Macy's Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit increased 11%, but the chain’s sales missed forecasts as ongoing winter storms caused a sales slump in January. The company also announced plans for new Macy’s stores in Sarasota, Fla.; Las Vegas; and The Bronx, N.Y., in fiscal 2014. A new Bloomingdale’s will open in Palo Alto, Calif., to replace an older store in the same shopping center.

Despite an 11% profit increase in the fourth quarter, sales at Macy’s missed forecasts as ongoing winter storms hurt the retailer’s results in January.

Macy’s reported net income of $811 million during the fourth quarter, up 5% from $730 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales dropped 1.6% to $9.2 billion from $9.35 billion. Analysts had expected a more modest decline to about $9.28 billion. Same-store sales grew 1.4% for the quarter, less than the 2.5% projected by Wall Street.

Bi-Lo Holdings and Delhaize Group have received approval from the Federal Trade Commission to proceed with the transaction in which Bi-Lo Holdings will acquire substantially all of the stores in the Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid’s supermarket chains from Delhaize.

Stein Mart plans to open 10 new stores this year as part of its largest store expansion since 2007.

Locations in the Miami, Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas areas are set to open this spring, bringing the company's total nationwide store count to more than 270.

Houston - Men's Wearhouse has increased its purchase offer for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. to $63.50 per share, or about $1.78 billion, from $57.50 per share, or about $1.6 billion. The bid may increase to $65 a share, or about $1.82 billion, if Jos. A. Bank agrees to halt its planned acquisition of Eddie Bauer and lets Men’s Wearhouse conduct limited due diligence. On February 14, Jos. A. Bank agreed to buy Eddie Bauer for $825 million, but reserved the right to terminate the deal if a superior transaction emerged.

Little Rock, Ark. – Dillard’s Inc. reported declining net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, Dillard’s reported a 26% decline in net income to $119.1 million from $161.4 million.

Net sales in the fourth quarter declined 3% to $2.03 billion from $2.1 billion, and same-store sales grew 2%. During the fiscal year, net income dropped about 4% to $323.7 million from $336 million, and net sales slightly declined to $6.53 billion from $6.59 billion. Same-store sales rose 1%.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods opens a new store in Panama City Beach, Fla., on March 7. The store will be located at Pier Park North and will be the retailer's 25th store in the state of Florida and its 559th nationwide.

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open four new locations in Florida on March 8, adding to its existing store base of more than 130 locations in the Sunshine State. New locations include the Coral Ridge Mall in Fort Lauderdale, Seabridge Square in St. Augustine, Lake Mary Centre in Lake Mary, and Southchase Village in Orlando.  

Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate approximately 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Denver — H&M has signed a lease for 20,000 sq. ft. at The Orchard Town Center, a 914,000-sq.-ft. open air regional retail center in Westminster, Colo., according to Vestar, the property’s owner. H&M plans to open the new store in the fall.

The addition of H&M comes less than two months after Vestar acquired the property for $123.5 million in an all cash transaction. Vestar plans to redevelop the project, rebranding the center with new amenities while brining in new retailers.

Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II voiced disappointment in the retailer’s gross margin performance despite what he called a profitable fourth quarter. Although comparable sales grew 2%, the retailer said lower-than-anticipated sales necessitated heavy markdowns.