Department Store

Saks chairman and CEO Stephen Sadove has been named to the board of directors at J.C. Penney to fill a position being vacated by Geraldine Laybourne.

Sadove will be leaving his position at Saks soon as the upscale department store chain was recently sold to Hudson’s Bay Company. Sadove joined Saks in 2002 as vice chairman and assumed the additional post of chief operating officer in 2004. He became CEO in 2006 and the following year was named chairman.

New York – Jos. A. Bank Clothiers has put in an offer to acquire Men’s Wearhouse for about $2.3 billion in a $48 per share all-cash offer, Reuters reported.

The acquisition would create a men’s apparel powerhouse with over 1,700 stores across the nation. Jos. A. Bank said Men’s Wearhouse was reviewing the proposal, according to the report.

Jos. A. Bank is partnering with Golden Gate Capital on the offer. The investment firm would make a $250 million equity investment in the company.

New York -- The Bon-Ton Stores has signed a lease with Rouse Properties for a new Herberger’s store at Cache Valley Mall in Logan, Utah — its first in the state. 

The company expects to begin remodeling the 62,000-sq.-ft. facility in early spring 2014 and to be completed in the second half of 2014.

Fort Worth, Texas — Trademark Property Co. has announced the appointment of Daniel Goldware as VP of leasing. Goldware will initially work on Waterside, Trademark’s new 63-acre master planned, mixed-use development under construction in Fort Worth, as well as Victory Park in downtown Dallas.

Goldware comes to Trademark from Weingarten Realty Investors where he served as a leasing executive in both Dallas and Houston for the past seven years.

New York -- Online mobile sales were strong in the third quarter as mobile percentage of online sales increased more than 60% year-over-year. Led by strong gains in home goods and department store, mobile traffic for U. S. retail overall reached almost 32% in the quarter, up more than 50% while online retail sales overall grew close to 10%.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. announced that departing Saks Inc. CEO and chairman Stephen Sadove has been elected to its board of directors.

Sadove's  election is effective upon his leaving Saks, which will occur once the acquisition of the upscale department store by Hudson's Bay Company is completed, which is expected by the end of the year.

Sadove is a highly regarded industry veteran. He is the current chairman of the National Retail Federation.

Bryn Mawr, Pa. — Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has opened at Boardman Plaza in Youngstown, Ohio, according to WP Realty, the center’s owner.

Boardman Plaza is a 625,000-sq.-ft. center and home to national, regional and local tenants including Burlington Coat Factory, Hobby Lobby, Save A Lot, Planet Fitness, Michaels, giant Eagle and Rite Aid.

Shopper activity decreased this September, in line with ShopperTrak’s predictions. Total retail store shopper traffic for the month decreased 20.2% compared to August. In a year-over-year comparison, shopper traffic for September 2013 decreased 6.9% compared to the same month last year.

Back-to-school shopping activity that peaked in August slowed as school came back in session. The early Labor Day (Sept. 2) compounded the reduction in September’s shopper activity by combining two normally distinct shopping opportunities into just one.