Retail

Wallingford, Conn. -- Edible Arrangements has set its sights on the Pacific Northwest for an aggressive expansion campaign designed to open as many as 30 new locations in the near future.
 
Edible Arrangements already has 10 locations in Oregon and Washington and sees significant opportunity for growth, which will be accomplished through franchising. Most of the growth will be focused in the Seattle, Tacoma and Portland areas and the company is currently seeking franchisees with the resources to open multiple locations.
 

Dallas -- 7-Eleven announced Monday it has closed on the acquisition of 46 Hickory Point and Palms Stores from CB Mart.

While the terms of this particular deal haven’t been made public, the acquisition boosts 7-Eleven’s Carolinas store count to more than 100 and puts the c-store operator solidly on track to continue its accelerated growth plan. 7-Eleven earlier acquired 55 Sam’s Mart and 13 Fast Track stores in the two-state area.

Cincinnati -- ECOtality and The Kroger Co. announced Monday an expanded partnership including over 200 level 2 (quick charge) charging stations, and 25 DC Fast Chargers, to be installed across key markets through the EV Project.

The multimillion-dollar expansion will bring the total number of Blink chargers in the Kroger system to almost 300.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart said it will open two additional college campus locations, nearly two years after make its university debut at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

According to a Monday report by the Wall Street Journal, which cited Inside Higher Ed, the retailer will open a 5,000-sq.-ft. store at Arizona State University in Phoenix next month, and will open in Atlanta on the Georgia Tech campus later this year.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association said Monday via a written letter to the House Ways and Means Committee that all corporate tax preferences need to be “put on the table” so that politics can be neutralized and progress can be made.

New York -- The fight over Martha Stewart resumed with both Macy's and J.C. Penney Co. back in a New York court on Monday. The trial, over whether Macy's has an exclusive right to sell select Martha Stewart home goods items, resumed after a month-long mediation effort failed to yield a settlement.

On Monday, Macy’s alleged Penney has begun selling some items on its website that infringe on Macy’s exclusive deal with Martha Stewart.

New York -- Ron Johnson is out as CEO of J.C. Penney. In making the announcement, the company also said that that Myron E. (Mike) Ullman has rejoined Penney as CEO, effective immediately. Ullman, who served as CEO of Penney until late 2011, has also been elected to the board of directors.

Johnson’s departure was not all that unexpected given the chain’s mounting losses and sales declines. But it was still a stunning reversal of fortune for the former golden boy of Apple, who left the tech giant amid great fanfare for the top job at Penney.

Nashville -- Genesco Inc. said Friday it will withdraw its listing on the Chicago Stock Exchange, citing a need to streamline operations and eliminate overlapping administrative requirements and costs.

The company, which owns the Journeys, Lids, and Johnston & Murphy banners among others, will continue to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange.