Mass Merchant

Bentonville, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday it has completed solar projects at eight Walmart stores and two Sam's Clubs across the state of Maryland that will generate clean, renewable electricity.

Bolingbrook, Ill. -- Ulta Beauty has selected Mary Dillon, the president and CEO of U.S. Cellular, as CEO, effective July 1, 2013. She replaces Dennis K. Eck, who has been serving as interim CEO of Ulta since CEO Chuck Rubin left to head up Michaels.

Dillon, 52, who will also become a member of Ulta’s board, has served in the top spot at U.S. Cellular since 2010. Previously, she was global chief marketing officer and executive VP for McDonald's Corp.

Fort Worth, Texas -- The 15.5-acre Longview Plaza power center has been acquired by Morris-Floyd Capital Partners. Located in Longview, Texas, the property is 100% leased.

Anchors include Bed, Bath & Beyond, T.J. Maxx, Michael’s, Office Depot, Best Buy and Books-A-Million. Sperry Van Ness brokered the sale. Longview Plaza Ltd. was the seller.

Washington, D.C. -- Combined Properties and its joint venture partner Saban Capital Group have acquired The Terraces, a 173,000-sq.-ft. community shopping center in Rancho Palos Verdes, a suburb of Los Angeles. Spread across three terraced levels, center retailers include Trader Joe’s, Marshalls, LA Fitness and Starlight Cinemas.

The joint venture between Combined Properties and Saban Capital Group is assembling a $200 million portfolio of value-add retail centers in Southern California and the Washington, D.C., metro market.

New York -- George Zimmer, the founder of Men's Wearhouse Inc., resigned from the company board of directors on Monday, according to a letter he sent the board, which was obtained by Reuters.
   
Last week, Zimmer was fired as the company's executive chairman. On Monday he submitted a letter resigning from the board. In the letter, Zimmer said it was "clear" he was fired by the board "to avoid addressing my growing concerns with recent board decisions."

China -- China once again topped the A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Retail Apparel Index, which measures the market readiness of developing economies for international apparel retailers to enter. Other compelling expansion opportunities are offered by a number of countries from Latin America and the Middle East.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General received a Gold Stevie award for Company of the Year in Retail at the 11th annual American Business Awards in recognition of the company’s position as an industry leader in the retail sector.

New York -- Dollar Tree / Deal$ has leased 8,000 sq. ft. on Steinway St. in Astoria, New York, according to SRS Real Estate Partners.

The SRS New York City office represented the tenant, and Lucid Vass Realty Group represented Astoria Properties Company, the landlord.