Mass Merchant

Baltimore — The Mall of Istanbul opened today in Istanbul, Turkey. The 34.5-acre mixed-use development features 2.1 million sq. ft. of retail space, 1.4 million sq. ft. of residential space and 322,600 sq. ft. of office space.

Baltimore-based DDG won the design contract for the mall in 2009 in an international competition.

Mars Chocolate has announced a slew of new products, which range from Mars Bites to Dove Whole Fruit Dipped in Dark Chocolate.

Mars Bites give consumers a taste of their favorite candy bars in bite-size pieces. Mars is adding Twix, Musketeers and Milky Way bites to the portfolio. The suggested retail price is $1.49 for a 2.83-oz. sharing size. A 6-oz. stand up pouch is available for a SRP of $2.99.

New York -- Google and Costco Wholesale Corp. came out on top in a survey of large companies with the best compensation and benefits for workers by jobs site Glassdoor. Rounding out the top five were Facebook, Adobe and Epic.

The ranking was based on an online anonymous survey that asked employees to rate how satisfied they were with their pay and benefits on a scale of 1 to 5. Costco and Google both received a score of 4.4 out of 5. Google ranked higher than Costco only by fractions of a point.

Ross Stores’ board approved a succession plan whereby chief merchandising officer and president Barbara Rentler will become CEO, making her the 25th female chief executive to currently serve at a Fortune 500 company.

Rentler will succeed Michael Balmut, who announced nearly two years ago his intent to step down as CEO on June 1, and become executive chairman. Ross Stores said Balmut will continue to play an integral role on the senior management team.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us announced the appointment of Campbell Lennox as managing director, Toys “R” Us, Australia, effective May 26.

Lennox will oversee all operations and business activities for the company’s 34 store locations and e-commerce site, as well as provide leadership for the more than 1,700 employees throughout the country. His responsibilities will include marketing, merchandising, store operations and customer service excellence.

Burlington, Mass. — KeyPoint Partners has added three new property management and leasing assignments to its portfolio. The firm will manage and lease Walnut Hill Plaza, a 298,000-sq.-ft. retail center in Woonsocket, R.I., and Summit Square, a 133,900-sq.-ft.-retail center in Warwick, R.I.

In addition, KeyPoint will manage the 97,000-sq.-ft. Harbor Village in Townsend, Mass.

Walmart is reportedly planning to substantially expand its e-commerce operation based in Sunnyvale, California. According to the Oakland Tribune, Walmart intends to add hundreds of staffers to its global e-commerce unit there, bringing the total number of e-commerce employees to about 1,000.
 
In addition, Walmart will lease a 107,000-sq.-ft. space in Sunnyvale to help house its e-commerce operations. Currently, the retailer employs about 550 e-commerce employees in Sunnyvale at an existing facility it will maintain.

Chattanooga, Tenn. — The Cheesecake Factory and Island Purveyor featuring Tommy Bahama have taken space at CoolSprings Galleria in Nashville, Tenn., according to the center’s owner CBL & Associates Properties. Both plan to open later this year.

The new tenants are part of CBL’s redevelopment and expansion plans for the 1.1 million-sq.-ft. super regional shopping center anchored by Belk, Dillard’s, J.C. Penney and Macy’s.