Mass Merchant

New York -- Canada’s Loblaw Cos. Ltd. plans to spin off the vast majority of its property assets into a real estate investment trust. The retailer said it plans to spin off real estate worth more than C$7 billion ($7.05 billion) into the REIT and sell units of the trust through an initial public offering that it hopes to complete by mid-2013.

Miami Beach, Fla. -- Terranova Corp. has signed a lease with Gap, providing a temporary store for the retailer while it builds its new multi-story location on Lincoln Road in Miami.

Gap will open a new location just off Lincoln Road at 1669 Meridian Ave., two blocks away from Gap’s current location at 1001 Lincoln. The existing Gap will close by early 2013, when Gap will begin redeveloping the building into a two-level, 20,000-sq. ft. flagship store. During construction, Gap will stay open for business at the Meridian Avenue location.

Online holiday sales continue to set new sales records, according to digital measurement firm comScore, and Walmart is presumably sharing in that growth given its site typically ranks second only to Amazon in terms of traffic.

It looks likes India’s rules against foreign direct investment in the retail sector will no longer be an impediment to Walmart’s expansion in the world’s second most populous country.

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets, a full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and western Vermont, today announced that the company has entered into an agreement with the Farrugia family to acquire three Big M supermarkets located in Elbridge, N.Y., Mexico, N.Y., and Jordan, N.Y.

This marks the third acquisition deal this year for Tops and will expand Tops' footprint further into areas of northern and central New York State.

India -- The Indian government on Friday won a non-binding vote in the upper house of parliament on its new policy to allow foreign supermarkets to enter the country's vast retail market, which is put at approximately $450 billion.

The government had already won a vote on retail reform in the lower house two days earlier.

NEW YORK — Verizon Communications has elected Kathryn A. Tesija, EVP of merchandising and supply chain at Target to the Verizon board of directors, effective immediately.

"Kathee Tesija brings to Verizon her valuable consumer insight as well as significant experience in managing the complex, large-scale, global retail functions of merchandising and supply chain," said Lowell C. McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO.

The addition of Tesija brings Verizon's total board membership to 12.

STOCKHOLM — H&M will become the first fashion company to roll out garment collecting in select stores worldwide as part of their sustainability initiative.