Retail

Myrtle Beach, S.C. -- Jones Lang LaSalle said Thursday it has closed the sale of Windy Hill Shopping Center and North Village Center on behalf of Equity One.

America’s Realty purchased the two adjacent shopping centers totaling 128,821 sq. ft. and anchored by Roses, Goodwill, Dollar General and Cititrends.
 

Tampa, Fla. -- RetailSense, a marketing software company that accelerates retail and agile marketing processes, announced that Family Dollar Store has signed a multi-year contract with Retail Sense. This new partnership includes the implementation of the latest release of IntelliSense marketing resource management solutions.
 

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th will open its doors in Chandler, Ariz., on Thursday, April 4, 2013.

The new 28,000-sq.-ft. store is located in Phoenix Premium Outlets, which is opening to the public that day. The new outlet center, owned and operated by Simon Property Group, is part of Wild Horse Pass, within the Gila River Indian Community, which includes hotels, a spa, casino, golf, an equestrian center, fine dining and more.

Hamilton, Bermuda -- Signet Jewelers Ltd. reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, helped by sales gains at its biggest division, Kay Jewelers. The company, which raised its quarterly dividend by 25%, said it anticipates opening 65 to 75 new U.S. stores for the year. 


Signet, which also operates the Jared chain in the United States and the Ernest Jones stores in Britain, said revenue increased 11.8% to $1.51 billion for the quarter ended Feb. 2.

Sunbury, Pa. -- Weis Markets has promoted Paul Stombaugh to VP/corporate controller.

Stombaugh will take on an expanded role in the company’s decision support and its strategic development. He also will continue to oversee its financial accounting and reporting functions, internal controls, treasury and budgets, Weis reported. He will continue to report to Scott Frost, SVP and CFO.

Prior to joining the company in 2010, Stombaugh worked in several progressive management roles at Foot Locker’s financial center.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line said its fourth-quarter profit dropped 18% as gross margins fell and overall sales declined more than analysts expected. The chain’s adjusted earnings and same-store sales growth, however, were in-line with its expectations.

For the fourth quarter ended March 2, Finish Line reported net income of $34.3 million, down from $41.9 million a year earlier.

New York -- Kohl’s, Target, and Walgreens were named “Brand of the Year” in their respective categories in the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend survey.

The annual study, conducted by Harris Interactive, reveals the brands that Americans rank highest in brand equity. Surveying more than 38,000 American consumers, it measures the level of quality, familiarity, and purchase consideration for each brand, and then awards "Brand of the Year" status to the top-ranked brand from each category.

Imagine a store with a back staff of robots, where items appear, almost magically, in the fitting room. A store where customers pay for their purchases in their dressing rooms, without interacting with a single salesperson. You can stop imagining … check out Hointer, an apparel (mostly men’s jeans) shop in Seattle.