Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle said Tuesday it has been named the new leasing and/or property manager for five retail properties in Arkansas, North Carolina, New York and Ohio.

The portfolio, owned by a variety of institutional investors, includes open-air shopping centers and a single-tenant property in Manhattan.

San Jose, Calif. -- Chicago-based General Growth Properties announced that Fresco World Market is slated to open at Eastridge Mall, located in Santa Clara County, Calif., by September.

Fresco will take over a former Circuit City building and will feature the largest produce and seafood departments in the county and the Bay area.

A GGP property, Eastridge Mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Macy's, Sears, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sports Chalet and AMC Theatres.

DALLAS -- Tuesday Morning's third-quarter sales offered another boost to the home retail segment, albeit not to the extent of Bed Bath & Beyond or Pier 1, which reported 4Q comps of 8.5% and 8.9%, respectively. 

Fourth-quarter sales at Bed Bath & Beyond grew 11.6% to $2.5 billion while profits grew 25% to $283 million for the period ended Feb. 26. On a per share basis, profits increased 30% to $1.12 in the fourth quarter, far surpassing the 97 cents consensus estimate of analysts. Equally impressive was the company’s 8.5% same-store sales increase as it occurred on top of a prior-year fourth-quarter comp increase of 11.5%.

San Marcos, Texas -- The Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group said that Ulta has leased 14,798 sq. ft. of retail space in Red Oak Village, a power retail center located near Austin, Texas.

At Red Oak Village, Ulta joins a line-up that includes Sam’s Club, Bed Bath & Beyond, Marshalls, Best Buy, PetSmart, Ross Dress for Less and other retailers and restaurants.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- West Palm Beach, Fla.-based American Commercial Realty Corp. said it has completed several new leases at the Shoppes at Boca Greens in Boca Raton, Fla.

Cosmetics and beauty retailer Harmon Face Values, a division of Bed Bath & Beyond, will open a new, 7,400-sq.-ft. store, the retailer’s first full store in Florida.

Children’s clothing retailer Denny’s Children’s Wear will relocate and expand to an 8,600-sq.-ft. location within the center.

West Pottsgrove, Pa. -- Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based Fameco Real Estate, L.P. said that  Carmike Cinemas has signed a lease for an approximately 46,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art multi-screen movie theater to be located in the  Upland Square Shopping Center, in West Pottsgrove, Pa.

LAS VEGAS - Reporting from the Consumer Electronics Show, Best Buy said that revenue for the fiscal month of December ended Jan. 1, decreased 1.6% to $8.4 billion. The revenue decline for the five-week period, as compared with $8.5 billion in revenue for the five-week period ended Jan. 2, 2010, was due primarily to a comparable-store sales decline of 4% partially offset by the addition of new stores in the past 12 months and the favorable impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

Less than desirable economic conditions don’t seem to faze Bed Bath & Beyond, which again this week reported another quarter of strong financial results. The company said its earnings per share for the third-quarter period ended Nov. 27 increased 28% to 74 cents, handily exceeding analysts’ consensus estimate of 66 cents. Sales increased roughly 11% to $2.2 billion and same store sales advanced 7% on top of a prior-year comp increase of 7.3%.