Department Store

San Diego – Ninety-three percent of U.S. families are doing back-to-school shopping for students age 18 and younger this year and are expected to spend a total of $72.5 billion. Results of the 2013 Back to School Intentions Study from TrendSource show that school supplies are far and away the most popular item, with 95% of back-to-school shoppers buying them.

J.C. Penney filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday that would allow for activist investor Bill Ackman to unload his entire stake in the company via a secondary stock offering.

According to the J.C. Penney’s filing, Ackman and various Pershing Square investment vehicles he controls plan to sell roughly 39 million shares representing 17.7% of the company’s 220.5 million outstanding shares.

Armonk, N.Y. – Back-to-school sales may have been stronger than anticipated this year, judging by online sales performance in July and August. According to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, online sales saw substantial gains from July through the third week in August, fueled by double-digit growth in mobile buying.

Specific findings for online sales activity in each month include:

July

New York -- Hedge fund manager and activist investor William Ackman is selling his entire stake in J.C. Penney.

Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, Penney’s single biggest shareholder with an approximate 18% stake, is offering its roughly 39.1 million shares for sale and used Citigroup as the bookrunner for the deal, Reuters reported. Penney filed a prospectus for the sale.

Beachwood, Ohio — DDR Corp. has announced that a joint venture formed with an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. has closed on the acquisition of a portfolio of seven prime shopping centers totaling 2.4 million sq. ft. The assets are located in supply constrained MSA’s including Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington D.C., Portland, Harrisburg, Pa., and Cincinnati.

Youngstown, Ohio — Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville, Ohio, has leased space to three new retailers: Panda, Boscov’s and The Children’s Place.

Panda will arrive in November with its Asian fusion menu, taking 1,500 sq. ft. Boscov’s department store will open its doors in October. So will The Children’s Place, which has leased 4,000 sq. ft.

The recently renovated Ohio Valley Mall is owned and managed in association with Cafaro affiliated companies.

Charlotte, N.C. — Divaris Real Estate has arranged two leases totaling approximately 9,000 sq. ft. of retail space at the Westfield Eastridge Mall in Gastonia, N.C. Divaris represented the landlord, WEA Eastridge LP.

Los Arcos, a family owned Mexican restaurant, leased a 6,183-sq.-ft. outparcel building. Creations, a gift card shop, renewed its lease for 2,669 sq. ft.

Belk, J.C. Penney, Sears and Dillard’s anchor the mall, which is leased exclusively by Divaris.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Ross Stores Inc. reported a profit of $213 million for the second quarter, compared with $182 million last year and beating Wall Street’s expectations.

Revenue rose 9% to $2.5 billion, matching forecasts. Same-store sales edged up 4%, compared to a 7% rise in the same period last year. However, the retailer expressed caution about the months ahead.