Department Store

Green Bay, Wis. -- Shopko Stores announced Wednesday that Mike Bettiga has been named interim CEO to replace Paul Jones, who resigned to pursue another opportunity.

Bettiga is a 35-veteran of the company, and most recently served as executive VP and COO. Shopko is owned by private investment firm Sun Capital Partners.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group said Wednesday that the U.S. commercial real estate market continued to show moderate improvement across all property sectors in third quarter 2012.

In the retail sector, properties continued to see modest improvement in availability, which fell 10 bps to 12.9%, during the third quarter.

CINCINNATI and WAYNE, N.J. — Macy’s and Toys"R"Us -- likely the two retailers most associated with Christmas -- have joined together for a unique retail partnership.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us and Macy’s announced Wednesday that the pair will team on a Toys “R” Us Express-branded in-store program slated to open in 24 Macy’s stores during the holiday selling season.

Beginning mid-October and running through mid-January, the holiday temp departments will operate on a leased basis, will average about 1,500 sq. ft. each and will offer an edited selection of the Toys “R” Us product assortment.

Commerce, Calif. -- Discounter 99 Cents Only said Tuesday it has launched an official search for a retail property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., to open its first store on the iconic street.

"We are confident a Rodeo Drive store will be successful because our stores do well in affluent areas,” said Eric Schiffer, CEO. “In fact, our highest sales volume store is located only a few blocks from Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard.”

Of its 303 extreme-value stores in the U.S., 222 are in California.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

COMMERCE, Calif. — Rodeo Drive is the place where Julia Roberts got the last laugh in "Pretty Woman" and the home to some of the most sought-after fashions in the world. But perhaps there is room on the iconic street for a more inclusive retail destination.

In that vain, 99 Cents Only Stores has issued a press release announcing its search for retail property on Rodeo Drive and is encouraging anyone with information on available retail space on Rodeo Drive is to contact its real estate department.