Retail

Dallas -- Venture Commercial said Monday that The Plaza at Preston Center, in Dallas, will see the Texas debuts of Sprinkles Ice Cream and True Food Kitchen this spring, and international retailers LUBLU Kira Plastinina and Aftershock London have selected The Plaza for their flagship U.S. stores.

Venture, which serves as the exclusive broker for the lifestyle center located in the heart of the Park City neighborhood, also said that Sprinkles Cupcakes and Calypso St. Barth are expanding and/or relocating their stores at The Plaza.

San Bernardino, Calif. -- Stater Bros. Markets said Tuesday it has named that Peter Van Helden as president and COO, succeeding the retiring Jim Lee.

Van Helden was previously EVP retail operations for Supervalu.
 

Perryville, Md. -- Ikea said Tuesday it has plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its distribution center in Perryville, Md.
 
The 768,972-sq.-ft. PV array consists of a 2,674.9-kW system, built with 18,576 panels, and is the state’s largest rooftop array.

The Ikea distribution center will produce approximately 3,397,178 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 2,397 tons of carbon dioxide, eliminating the emissions of 499 cars or powering 359 homes yearly.  
 

New York -- Macy’s Inc. filed an appeal on Monday, challenging Manhattan state court judge Jeffrey Oing’s Friday ruling that J.C. Penney can sell unbranded Martha Stewart goods in its stores, at least temporarily.

Penney was celebrating the decision that would allow it to sell Martha Stewart items as long as they didn’t carry her name, especially since the products – valued by one analyst at $100 million -- were already manufactured and being stored in warehouses. 

New York -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that J.C. Penney has an additional plan to raise money; the retailer is said to be considering a spinoff of its real-estate holdings into a new unit that could issue debt.

Citing two unidentified sources, Bloomberg said Penney is also considering selling its real estate and then leasing it back as another avenue to free up money. And other assets, such as inventory, could be collateralized.

By Keith Carpentier, Tensator.com/us

Essex, Vt. -- EWB Development announced the appointment of Daniel J. Cochran as a new partner and the head of the new Tenant Representation division at EWB.

Cochran’s 25-year retail and outlet background includes Phillips Van Heusen – where he was SVP of real estate and legal – and Coach, where he served as SVP of real estate and construction.

Cherry Hill, N.J. -- Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) said that Crumbs Bake Shop recently opened its first area location at Cherry Hill Mall, in Cherry Hill, N.J.

The 200-sq.-ft. foot kiosk is a dessert supplement to major Cherry Hill Mall dining players such as Grand Lux Café, Bobby’s Burger Palace, California Pizza Kitchen, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, and Bahama Breeze.