Convenience Stores

Denton, Md. -- Walmart will break ground on a new supercenter in Denton, Maryland, the week of September 19. The 152,888-sq.-ft.  store will also feature a Subway.

Walmart currently operates 35 stores and 12 Sam's Clubs in the state of Maryland.

CARLISLE, Pa . — The U.S. subsidiary of Dutch supermarket operator Royal Ahold is hoping to attract local and diverse suppliers to its stores in the markets in which it operates.

Pittsburgh — Giant Eagle on Thursday unveiled its first two compressed natural gas fueling stations in the Pittsburgh area at its Beechnut Drive retail support and distribution center, according to a report by Drug Store News.

Annapolis, Md. — Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said three new tenants have leased space at Village at Lee Airpark, located in Annapolis, Md.

Coldstone Creamery has leased 1,240 sq. ft., AT&T Authorized Dealer CellComm has leased 2,076 sq. ft., and Bay Tunes Guitars has leased 1,390 sq. ft.

All three retailers are slated to open fall 2011, bringing the first phase of Village at Lee Airpark to 98% occupancy.  

Newport Beach, Calif. — Lucescu Realty said it has opened a new regional office in Phoenix, its second office outside its California headquarters. The company recently opened a Las Vegas office and plans to open a San Francisco presence by year-end 2011.

In other company news, Lucescu Realty said it completed the sale of The Promenade in Scottsdale, for $110 million.  Lucescu Realty represented the seller, a local private investor, and procured the buyer, Excel Trust of San Diego. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Members of the Retail Industry Leaders Association on Wednesday arrived in Joplin, Mo., to help clean up the Midwest city that was hard-hit in May by a category F-5 tornado.

Washington, D.C. — A report released Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department showed that retail sales in June experienced a slight uptick of 0.1%. This comes on the heels of a 0.1% dip in May, the first time in 11 months that sales fell. 

The June resurgence was attributed to a rise in auto sales and increased spending in big chain stores. Sales excluding gasoline rebounded 0.3% after declining 0.2% in May.

Sales at general merchandise stores, which include Wal-Mart and Target, increased 0.4% on warmer weather and aggressive discounting. 

Milford, Conn. — The Subway restaurant chain announced that a franchisee in Toledo, Ohio, has opened the brand's 8,000th non-traditional location— in a two million-sq.-ft. automobile assembly facility that produces Jeep and Chrysler vehicles.

Shanghai — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced it has appointed its current Canada finance chief Sean Clarke as COO over the company’s China operations, after former CFO Roland Lawrence and COO Rob Cissell left the company in May.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Clarke will be joined by Steve Smith, named chief marketing officer in China. Smith was senior VP at Delhaize Group. 

WASHINGTON— The National Retail Federation has joined the National Restaurant Association in support of legislation that would require federal agencies to consider the impact on small businesses when establishing rules and regulations.

“This legislation would strengthen the protections for small businesses in the often-asphyxiating federal regulatory process,” the two organizations said in a letter to House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y.