PetSmart LLC

John Bucksbaum discusses post-recession realities

Bucksbaum Retail Properties opened for business in April 2012. The Chicago-based company has already opened one project and is working on four more.

The 53,000-sq.-ft. Kingsbury Center near North Chicago has opened with four tenants: Buy Buy Baby, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports and Jimmy Johns. It is a joint venture with Chicago-based Structured Development.

Bucksbaum Retail Properties opened for business in April 2012. The Chicago-based company has already opened one project and is working on four more.

The 53,000-sq.-ft. Kingsbury Center near North Chicago has opened with four tenants: Buy Buy Baby, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports and Jimmy Johns. It is a joint venture with Chicago-based Structured Development.

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. said Friday it has appointed Laurie Ann Goldman and Joseph O'Leary to its board of directors, effective April 17.

Goldman is CEO of shapewear brand Spanx. Earlier in her career, she held marketing positions at R.H. Macy and Maison Blanche Stores.    

O'Leary is EVP merchandising, marketing, supply chain and strategic planning for PetSmart.

Nashville, Tenn. -- GBT Realty Corp. said Wednesday it has closed on the purchase of approximately 20 acres along Pooler Parkway in Pooler, Ga., for the development of the Village on Pooler Parkway. The development will consist of more than 143,000 sq. ft. when completed in the first quarter of 2014.
 

Colton, Calif. -- The Hodgdon Group announced that it has completed construction of the conversion of a former Babies "R" Us building at Eastland Center in West Covina, Calif., for the opening of an Ashley Furniture HomeStore on March 15.

Hodgdon Group's HMC Construction handled all entitlements and served as the design-build contractor for the major renovation of the 42,000-sq.-ft. freestanding building. The West Covina location, in Eastland Center, represents the 15th Ashley Furniture HomeStore to be completed by the Hodgdon Group.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the past two months or so have seen an unusually high level of turnover at the top? It's gotten so that you need a scorecard to keep up with all the comings and goings, as chief executives are forced out, jump ship, retire or move on.

This year's changing of the guard is bittersweet because it includes the retirement of two veteran retailers, Steve Burd of Safeway and Maxine Clark of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Panama City Beach, Fla. -- Columbus, Ohio-based Casto said that its JV partners The St. Joe Co. and Strategic Retail Advisors, along with U.S. Bank, have closed on a $46 million construction loan that will finance The Pier Park North Shopping Center, a 360,000-sq.-ft. shopping center in Panama City Beach, Fla.

Phoenix -- PetSmart Inc. reported a 31% increase in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit, helped by an extra week of sales. But its forecast for this year disappointed investors.

The company earned $134 million for the quarter ended Feb. 3, up from $102 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 15% to $1.88 billion from $1.64 billion, helped by an extra week of sales in the more recent quarter. Same-store sales rose 4.6%.

For the full year, PetSmart’s revenue rose 11% to $6.8 billion.