Mass Merchant

San Francisco -- Four months after the Supreme Court tossed out a huge class-action lawsuit by female Walmart employees who claimed they were discriminated against by the world’s largest retailer, a smaller, regionalized group of employees has regrouped to file another gender-bias claim against Wal-Mart Stores.

Chicago -- The third annual Mobile Audit, released Thursday by e-commerce and digital marketing company Acquity Group, found that mobile adoption is on the rise. In fact, the percentage of retailers with a mobile site reached 37% in 2011, up from 12% in 2010 and only 4% in 2009 – a 210% increase over the past year alone.

New York City -- Brixmor Property Group said Wednesday it has appointed Thomas W. Litzler as senior VP, central region.

Based in Chicago, Litzler will serve as the asset manager for the region, directing leasing, property operations and redevelopment activity for 11.7 million sq. ft. of community and neighborhood shopping centers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners said that Dollar Tree/Deal$ has leased four new retail spaces, all in New York.

The company leased 12,000 sq. ft. in Maspeth, N.Y.; 12,000 sq. ft. in Brooklyn; 10,250 sq. ft. in Sunnyside; and 9,341 sq. ft. on Broadway in New York City.
 

Atwater, Calif. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said that Dollar Tree has leased retail space in Atwater, Calif., at Applegate Ranch Shopping Center.

Dollar Tree leased 9,264 sq. ft. and is now open. The 464,136-sq.-ft. shopping center is anchored by a Super Target, Walmart, Marshalls and Petco.
 

Newington, N.H. -- Burlington, Mass.-based KeyPoint Partners said it has been awarded the property management and leasing contracts for The Crossings at Fox Run, a 475,000-sq.-ft. power center in Newington, N.H.

The property will be handled out of the firm’s Burlington, Mass., corporate headquarters. Heitman LLC awarded the contracts.

Hamilton Township, N.J. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management said Thursday that its year-long, multi-million dollar renovation of 59-year-old Hamilton Plaza is nearing completion. The renovation of the 184,272-sq.-ft. center, located in Hamilton Twp., N.J., includes significant upgrades to the common areas, and the addition of two pad sites and a 10,000-sq.-ft. end cap.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced that Dick’s Sporting Goods has executed leases and opened stores with affiliates of Forest City Enterprises at two projects in Metro New York.

A 49,286-sq.-ft. Dick’s opened at Forest City Ratner’s Ridge Hill project in Yonkers, N.Y., anchoring the one million-sq.-ft. center.

A 35,685-sq.-ft. Dick’s also opened in Staten Island, in a freestanding location in front of Staten Island Mall.

Austin, Texas -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said that Footlocker has opened at Hancock Center, located in Austin, Texas. The retailer opened a 2,946-sq.-ft. store, and will be joined by Family Chiropractic, which is slated to open an 1,100-sq.-ft. center in November.

The 410,437-sq.-ft. neighborhood center is anchored by a 90,217-sq.-ft. H-E-B alongside national retailers such as Petco, Quiznos and 24 Hour Fitness.
 

The fashion and retail blogospheres went into overdrive with complaints about how Target botched the launch of its latest and exclusive limited time collection, Missoni for Target. And shoppers across the nation took to Facebook, Twitter and other sites to share their frustrations. The folks who seemed to be the most put-out were those who ordered goods online.  After experiencing long delays and going through any number of hurdles before they were even able to place an order, many are now being told that their orders would be delayed or, even worse, canceled.