eCommerce

Chicago -- For pure play premium pet food and accessories retailer PetFlow, online marketing is a crucial component of its business. Initially, PetFlow used Google AdWords to direct consumers searching for specific pet products to its site. However, as PetFlow co-founder Alex Zhardanovsky told the audience during a morning keynote session at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, initial efforts by the retailer to expand its online marketing activities to Facebook did not work so well.

New York -- Some of the largest retailers in the United States and United Kingdom are not keeping pace at adapting their store operations to changing consumer buying habits.  

Washington, D.C. -- Los Angeles, New York and Chicago top the list of the cities with the highest organized retail crime activity, with Miami and Atanta rounding out the top five, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF’s ninth annual Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Survey found that while organized crime has inched down slightly, it remains widespread. Over 90% (93.5%) of retailers said they had been a victim of organized retail crime during the past year, down from 96% the prior year.

Dallas -- CBRE’s Private Capital Group in Dallas has arranged the sale of Hebron Heights Shopping Center in Carrollton, Texas, for an undisclosed amount. The 59,356-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center occupies a 10-plus acre site at the corner of Hebron Parkway and Old Denton Road in northwest Dallas.

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle has announced that it has closed the sale of Tifton Corners in Tifton, Ga., to Tifton Retail. JLL represented RCG Ventures in the transaction.

Anchors at the 186,629-sq.-ft. Tifton Corners include Big Lots, Save A Lot, Tractor Supply Co., Dollar Tree, Citi Trends and Hibbett Sports. The property is currently 84% leased.

JLL noted that Tifton is near I-75, a major north-south interstate, in south central Ga., two hours north of Tallahassee and three hours south of Atlanta.

By Wade Savoy, [email protected]

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group Inc. reported its fiscal third-quarter net income dropped nearly 37% amid costs related to its acquisition of Charming Shoppes and a charge tied to debt extinguishment. The chain also lowered its full-year earnings forecast.

Net income slipped to $31.2 million for the quarter that ended April 27, from $49.4 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue rose nearly 46% to $1.14 billion, boosted by the company’s acquisitions of the Lane Bryant and Catherines chains. Same-store sales fell 4%.

Atlanta -- A just-released report by Jones Lang LaSalle Retail found that three trends — in retail investing, retail expansion and e-commerce — are making national borders increasingly irrelevant to the retail industry. According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s “Global Capital Flows,” retail investment captured 25% of the total global market share of real estate investment in first quarter 2013.

Dallas -- Regency Centers Corp. has closed on an off-market acquisition of Preston Oaks, a 103,503-sq.-ft. infill neighborhood center anchored by H-E-B Central Market. National retailers include Gap, Pier 1 Imports and White House Black Market.

Located in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas, Preston Oaks serves a market of 109,000 within a three-mile radius. Average household income is $144,000. The market’s population swells to 118,000 during the day.

A lot of buzz this week about Amazon expanding a long-running grocery delivery program in its hometown of Seattle to the Los Angeles area and what it might mean for food retailers. The answer for now is, not much.