JCPenney Co.

By Jill Puleri, [email protected]

The recently concluded holiday season was a happy one for most retailers, thanks in part to a recovering economy, heightened consumer confidence and no debilitating weekend snowstorms.

Oh, and wide acceptance of technology gadgets and experiences may have helped a bit, too.

NEW YORK — Kohl's is the recipient of the People’s Pick award in The Harris Poll Customer Relationship Series, conducted by Harris Interactive. The award cognizes the strength of consumers' bonds with mid-tier department stores and reflects the customers' connections and future intentions.

New York City -- Kohl's is the recipient of the People’s Pick award in The Harris Poll Customer Relationship Series, conducted by Harris Interactive. The award cognizes the strength of consumers' bonds with mid-tier department stores and reflects the customers' connections and future intentions.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. announced Tuesday that Thomas J. Engibous will become chairman of its board of directors, effective Jan. 28.

Engibous was named to the board in 1999 and has served in presiding director and lead independent director roles since 2008. He will assume the chairman's role from Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, J.C. Penney’s former CEO, who will step down as executive chairman.

Engibous is the retired chairman of Texas Instruments Inc.

Target may have floundered a bit in December, but many retailers reported solid sales gains for the month. Overall, retail sales rose 3.4% at the 22 retailers tracked by the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index, compared with the 3.3% analyst forecast, however results were mixed.

That was the case with the nation’s discounters and department store retailers, with many chains citing unseasonably warm weather that sapped demand for cold-weather merchandise.

Well, the holidays are finally over and the verdict is in: Retailers reported a 3.5% year-over-year sales increase in December — that’s better than I thought we would see — and a 3.3% increase overall for the season. While slightly more than some analysts anticipated (myself included!), it wasn’t the happiest holiday for everyone. Certain sectors (electronics) and brands (Macy’s, Nordstrom) did better than expected, while others (Target and J.C. Penney) did worse.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney announced that Thomas Engibous will become chairman of its board of directors on Jan. 28.  Engibous was named to the board in 1999 and has served in presiding director and lead independent director roles since 2008.  He will assume the chairman's role from Myron Ullman, III, JCPenney's former chief executive officer, who will step down as executive chairman.

Richmond, Va. -- Atlanta-based Jones Lang LaSalle said Thursday that it has been selected as the property and leasing manager for Regency Square Mall, an 820,000-sq.-ft. regional shopping center located in Richmond, Va.

Jones Lang LaSalle will work with the current Taubman management team for a one-month transition period.