Retail

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.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. has named Dr. Leonard Schlesinger to its board of directors. He will also serve as the chairman of the board’s compensation committee.

Schlesinger has held executive leadership positions at various retail and consumer brands, including vice chairman and COO of Limited Brands from 1999 to 2007, and has served for more than 20 years as a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and previously served as the president of Babson College.

Ottawa, Canada – 360pi has formally launched the 360pi Partner Program. This initiative provides a framework for retail technology providers to leverage 360pi's pricing intelligence in their solutions.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity Corp. reported that net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 dipped to $3.2 million, compared to $5.9 million in the same period last year.

Revenue fell 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, and same-store sales decreased 5.1%. CEO Ed Krell blamed the disappointing results on inclement weather.

Seattle – Starbucks Coffee Company reported generally strong performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 10% to $0.56, from $0.51.

Consolidated net revenues grew 9% to $3.87 billion from $3.55 billion, while consolidated same-store sales increased 6%.

The retailer cited its Teavana business, partnership with Oprah Winfrey, and new payment and loyalty technology as all contributing to overall fiscal growth.