Financial/Banking

Milan, Italy –- Leonardo Del Vecchio, 79, the chairman and founder of global eyewear manufacturer/retailer Luxottica Group who assumed the role of interim CEO on Oct. 14, has reportedly sent a letter to employees reassuring them his return as CEO is temporary. According to Reuters, in the letter, Del Vecchio said he would step down and turn management over to new co-CEOs once the company’s new governance structure is consolidated.  

By John Gessau, ACI Worldwide   Wow. What a month in the world of mobile payments.   So much has been said and written since Apple Pay was announced on Sept. 9th, up to its official launch on Monday, Oct. 20. If I had dollar for every time Apple Pay was mentioned in the press and in blogs, well…   But Apple Pay isn’t the only thing that has happened since Sept. 9th. There has been a lot going on around the globe:

Tampa, Fla. -- Northbrook, Illinois-based Pine Tree Commercial Realty, LLC announced that it has acquired South Pasadena Shopping Center, a grocery-anchored community shopping center located in South Pasadena (Tampa), Florida, for $21.1 million.    The recent acquisition is Pine Tree’s 73rd and brings the company’s current portfolio to 3.5 million sq. ft. in 15 states.  

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- GE Capital’s Franchise Finance business announced its first financing for the Corner Bakery Café brand. It  comes in the form of a $5.6 million loan to Texas-based MX Restaurants and Bakeries, which already operates seven Corner Bakery restaurants in the Houston and South Texas markets. MX will use these funds to pay off short-term debt related to a recent acquisition and to develop four additional units.  

Watsonville, Calif. –- A tax valuation allowance related to its Canadian operations helped reduce net income at West Marine Inc. to $4.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, down 24% from $6.5 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Net revenues were $196.5 million, a 2% jump from $193.4 million, and same-store sales rose 0.6%.  

Burlington, Mass. -- KeyPoint Partners has completed the sale of West Plymouth Square in Plymouth, Mass., at a sale price of $7 million.  

Cheshunt, U.K. –- Sir Richard Broadbent, chairman of Tesco PLC, will step down in the wake of a 99% drop in net income for the first half of fiscal 2014. Tesco reported first half profits of $9.6 million, about $333 million less than previous estimates.  

St. Louis --Marcus & Millichap announced that Brett Chetek has rejoined the firm as senior director of the National Retail Group in the firm’s St. Louis office.