Retail

Pittsburgh – GNC Holdings Inc. is launching a new national brand campaign: "Beat Average." The campaign is designed to open a conversation with health-and-wellness consumers about their daily personal wellness goals and how GNC can be their ongoing partner and ally in beating average.

Hong Kong -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is changing the management structure of its Asia operation with a series of promotions. Scott Price, currently president and CEO of Walmart Asia, will move to a senior management role as executive VP, international strategy and development, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, integration and purchase leverage, based at Wal-Mart's world headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Space Ninety 8, a new concept from Urban Outfitters, has opened in the uber-hip Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. Big and spacious, the multi-level space is located in a renovated warehouse. It has an industrial look, complete with exposed ceilings and brick wall, with lots of boho-chic accents.  

The basement level houses a pop-up, with Adidas originals serving as the inaugural tenant. The space is colorful, with bold, crazy prints (the work of a local artist) accenting the walls and displays.

By Bret Cunningham, president, BestFit Mobile

Dallas — Applebee’s has purchased a one-acre pad in Richardson, Texas, from Leon Capital Group. Venture Commercial Real Estate represented Applebee’s in the transaction.

Venture Commercial’s full-service real estate platform includes landlord and tenant representation, property management, land sales, disposition and income property sales. As the D-FW partner of X Team International, Venture is able to serve its clients on a national scale.

Indianapolis - The Finish Line Inc. Gart Capital Partners (GCP) have agreed to Finish Line increasing its ownership in Running Specialty Group (RSG). GCP will retain an ownership position in RSG, maintain two positions on the RSG board of directors and will continue to provide leadership in ongoing business development opportunities.

Knoxville, Tenn. — Four new retailers have signed leases with University Commons, a new retail center adjacent to the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, Tenn. The property’s developer, CHM, made the announcement.

The newly signed retailers are Fresh To Order, a fast-fine restaurant concept; Blush Boutique, an affordable-fashion concept; Great Clips, the chain’s twentieth Knoxville-area shop; and Jersey Mike’s, the fast casual submarine sandwich franchise.

Washington, D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a former executive with insider trading in advance of EBay’s acquisition of the e-commerce company GSI Commerce where he worked, by tipping friends and relatives with confidential information about the pending deal so they could attain more than $300,000 in illegal profits.