Discount Store

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. has appointed Mary Meixelsperger as CFO effective May 1. Meixelsperger replaces Douglas Probst, who is retiring from DSW on the same day.

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores LLC reported a widening net loss in an abbreviated 10-month fiscal 2014 which was shortened from the Saturday closest to the end of March to the Friday closest to the end of January. Net loss grew to $12.48 million from $8.9 million.

Total net sales were $1.53 billion, down 8% from $1.66 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.7%.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Several Sears Outlet stores across the country have new owners. Locations in Oceanside, Ontario, and Corona, Calif., are now owned by Tony Lutfi. Lutfi and his team now own and operate 11 Sears Outlet stores, 17 Sears Home Appliance Showrooms and three Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores.

In addition, Sears Outlet stores Tempe and Gilbert, Ariz. have a new owner, Keith Edquist. Edquist also owns another Sears Outlet store and seven Sears Home Appliance Showrooms.

New York -- Tesco Plc plans to bring its value-priced F&F clothing format to the United States, opening seven stores on the East Coast this year with its U.S. franchise partner, Retail Group of America. The move comes some six months after Tesco sold off its struggling American supermarket operation, Fresh & Easy, to Ron Burkle's Yucaipa investment company.

Montreal -- Dollarama Inc. has named Johanne Choinière as COO, effective May 12. In this role, Choinière will be responsible for overseeing retail store operations as well as logistics, distribution and supply chain management.

Since 1999, Choinière was employed at Metro Inc., where she held increasingly senior positions across the organization, including senior VP merchandising for Metro Ontario and, most recently, senior VP of Metro's Ontario Division.

Richmond, Va. — Divaris Real Estate has announced the signing of two retail leases in the greater Richmond suburb of Midlothian.

Tex-Mex restaurant Chuy’s has leased 7,449 sq. ft. in the Village at Swift Creek in Midlothian. The Richmond office of DRE represented the landlord, Swift Creek Associates. This will be Chuy’s second Richmond location. Chuy’s will join Guitar Center, Babies “R” Us, TGIF, Red Lobster and Cracker Barrel in the development.

Sandton, South Africa – Grant Pattison, CEO of Massmart Holdings Ltd., a South African retailer that operates as a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, is resigning. Pattison, 43, will be replaced by Massmart COO Guy Hayward, 48, on June 1, as part of what the company terms a smooth succession plan.

Pattison joined Massmart in 1998 and was appointed CEO in 2007. He was CEO when Massmart sold a majority stake to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Hayward has served with Massmart since 2000, receiving appointments as CFO in 2001 and COO in 2012.

New York -- March was a so-so month for retailers, whose performance was impacted by unspring-like, cold temperatures in many parts of the country and a late Easter. (Easter falls on April 20 this year as opposed to March 31 last year.)

The eight retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters posted a 2.2% increase in March same-store sales, better than the expected 1.4% increase.