Footwear

Los Angeles -- CIM Group announced the acquisition of Block 37, a five-story retail center located on the State Street retail corridor in Chicago’s Central Loop.

Block 37 is located directly across the street from Macy’s State Street. It is also in the heart of Chicago’s State Street retail corridor, which boasts a significant concentration of National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places and Chicago Landmark designated buildings and attracts millions of local customers and tourists every year.

San Francisco -- Westfield announced that Tiffany will open on level 1 of the center, next to Bloomingdale’s, in fall 2012.

The luxury jewelry will join just-opened tea purveyor Teavana, Danish footwear retailer Ecco and men’s apparel store Henri Hubert San Francisco.

Chocolate house Ghirardelli will open a new store -- Chirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop -- in April, and Marbles: The Brain Store will open in the summer.

Francesca’s Collection is under construction.

PITTSBURGH — Dick's Sporting Goods is looking into opportunities beyond the United States and has agreed to make a 20 million pounds Sterling strategic investment in JJB Sports plc, a leading U.K. sports retailer.

Pittsburgh -- Dick's Sporting Goods has agreed to make a 20 million pound investment ($31.75 million) in U.K. sports retailer JJB Sports plc, which operates over 180 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Dick's will purchase 18.75 million pounds ($29.76 million) in junior secured convertible notes and 1.25 million pounds ($1.98 million) in ordinary shares of JJB Sports. The transaction is subject to approval of the British company's shareholders.

New York -- Hybris announced that The Gymboree Corp. has selected the hybris platform to enhance its e-commerce efforts and provide a cohesive omnichannel shopping experience across its three brands, Gymboree, Crazy 8, and Janie and Jack.

Peterborough, N.H. -- Eastern Mountain Sports announced plans to open three stores during the next three months.

The company is moving an existing location at the Plaza at Buckland Hills in Manchester, Conn., approximately 12 storefronts down into a new, 18,831-sq.-ft. site. It also is opening a 20,442-sq.-ft. store in South Portland, Maine, and a 13,013-sq.-ft, location in North Brunswick, N.J.

Erie, Pa. -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co. said that Ross Dress for Less will open a store at the Millcreek Mall Complex near Erie, Pa.

The new store will open in the Millcreek Pavilion section of the complex this fall. It will occupy more than 25,000 sq. ft. next to Old Navy.

Millcreek Mall Complex, located in Millcreek Township, comprises more than two million sq. ft. of shopping, lodging, dining and entertainment.
 

El Paso, Texas -- Freedom Crossing at Fort Bliss, the first-ever, open-air shopping center to be part of a United States military installation, announced that A'Gaci, O'shoes, and Texas Roadhouse will soon open at the retail destination. Comprised of more than 461,000 sq. ft. of gross leasable area, Freedom Crossing is one of the only shopping centers to be built in the United States in recent years, and the first opportunity for businesses to privately operate within an open-air center on a U.S. military installation

Indianapolis -- Finish Line Inc. posted earnings of $41.9 million for the fourth quarter, compared with $34.2 million in the year-ago period. But the chain forecast a plunge in first-quarter earnings due to lower margins.

Sales in the quarter ended March 3, 2012, rose 18.6% to $456.3 million, ahead of analyst estimates of $432.62 million. Same-store sales rose 10.8%.

For the full fiscal year, consolidated net sales increased 11.4% to $1.37 billion. Same-store sales increased 9.2%.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line announced that Gart Capital Partners will invest $10 million in Finish Line’s Running Specialty Group, with the goal of creating the largest operator of specialty running shoe business in the United States.