Yum! Brands

Plano, Texas -- Pizza Hut will offer 50% off any medium or large pizza ordered online from Jan. 1-10. The online promotion marks the 20th anniversary of Pizza Hut offering online ordering via its “PizzaNet” digital ordering hub.

Participants will also join the brand's "Hut Lovers" program, which provides members with other exclusive deals. Pizza Hut is launching a YouTube ad featuring 1990s pop artists Ace of Base as part of the promotion.

Watauga, Texas — Dollar Tree has leased an 8,450-sq.-ft. location at Brooks Crossing, a community retail center in Watauga, Texas. The Weitzman Group represented the shopping center, and The Retail Connection represented Dollar Tree.

The Brooks Crossing tenant line-up includes Albertsons, GameStop, Tuesday Morning, Chase, GNC, Subway, Taco Bell and others. Cencor Realty Services manages Brooks Crossing.

By Lynn Hinderaker, [email protected]

The future is knocking on the door of hedge fund manager and owner of Sears, Eddie Lampert. His decision to split off Lands’ End and Sears Auto Center from the core Sears brand would have been a good decision in 2004, one year after he purchased the deteriorating retail brand. Today, given the monumental shift in online purchasing behavior that has changed all of retailing, Lampert’s move is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Plano, Texas – Pizza Hut is introducing all-new mobile ordering apps and a refreshed mobile website. The new mobile enhancements will enable users to order in less than 30 seconds, will be GPS-enabled to assist in finding the nearest restaurant and will immediately update as new products and deals are introduced.

New York – Grocery discounter Aldi has been ranked the world’s “simplest” brand, with simplicity defined as a clarity of purpose that enables employee innovation and customer service. According to the annual 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index from strategic marketing firm Siegel & Gale, Amazon.com is ranked second, followed by Google, which came out on top this year. The report is based on a study of 10,000 consumers in seven countries,

Newell Rubbermaid is consolidating its marketing efforts and picking one lead creative partner and one lead media-buying partner to help oversee the company’s global advertising and promotion investment.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners has announced a September transactions and new assignments carried out by SRS offices across the country.

SRS Atlanta:
•    Three new tenants have inked deals at Krog Street Market, a 30,000-sq.-ft. mixed–use redevelopment project owned by Paces Properties. Fred’s Meat & Bread has leased a 600-sq.-ft. space; Gu’s Dumplings has taken 600 sq. ft. and The Little Tart Bakeshop plans to open a 200-sq.-ft. market stall.

San Diego  — Representing a real estate investment trust, The Mansour Group has sold a portfolio of five Applebee’s for $13.3 million.

To complete the transaction, The Mansour Group sourced a private high net worth California investor, who sold an apartment complex and acquired the portfolio through a 1031 exchange. The restaurants are located in North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Minnesota and Kentucky:

As if competing against Target, Best Buy and Amazon.com isn’t challenging enough, nationwide the fast-food “strike” which took place Thursday offered a glimpse of the type of headline-grabbing, disruptive activities Walmart can expect from its opponents this holiday season.

Waban, Mass. – Amazon.com was the top-ranked company across 19 industries in the 2013 Web Experience Ratings from Temkin Group. Amazon.com had a score of 77%, almost 21 percentage points higher than the retail industry average.

Other retailers in the top 10 included eBay, tied for fifth place at 70%, and QVC, tied for eighth place at 69%. Taco Bell and Kmart earned ratings that were at least 15 points below the retail industry average. Old Navy was the only retailer to have a double-digit score increase from last year.