Mass Merchant

New York -- A 2010 law that gave the state of New Jersey the authority to claim the value of unused gift cards as revenue has been repealed by the state’s Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

Sam Club president and CEO Ros Brewer on Thursday named Charles Redfield as Sam’s newest EVP merchandising to replace Linda Hefner who will relocate to Chicago, according to an internal announcement.

Minot, N.D. -- Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties announced it has acquired Dakota Square Mall in Minot, N.D.

CBL acquired the property from the Lightstone Group.

Puyallup, Wash. -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co. said that Panera Bread will open a new bakery-café at its South Hill Mall property in Puyallup, Wash.

The new Panera Bread, slated to open this fall, will occupy a 4,300-sq.-ft. building recently vacated by Krispy Kreme.

The 1 million-sq.-ft. South Hill Mall is anchored by Target, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Sears and Regal Cinemas, and features 120 specialty shops.
 

NEW YORK — JCPenney executives laid out further details of their strategy going forward during the chain’s quarterly conference call with investors. The call followed the release of JCPenney’s first quarter results, when it reported a worse-then-expected loss of $163 million, and a 19% drop in same-store sales.

JCPenney said it would launch a new private label apparel brand, jcp, for both men and women. The brand is set to debut in August.

Woodbridge, Va. -- Indianapolis-based The Mills, a Simon Property Group company, said that Potomac Mills, the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in Virginia, will soon expand its footprint with the addition of an exterior transformation and two new restaurants: The Cheesecake Factory and Bobby’s Burger Palace.

The project also includes the relocation of Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and the introduction of Buybuy Baby and Christmas Tree Shops.

Chicago -- General Growth Properties announced Thursday that Boscov’s department stores will open at White Marsh Mall, in Baltimore, and at Woodbridge Center, in Woodbridge, N.J.

The 197,000-sq.-ft. Baltimore store is projected to open November 2012, and the 180,000-sq.-ft. Woodbridge Center store is slated to open August 2013

Milford, Conn. -- Sandwich mega-chain Subway said Friday that it has set 2012 development goals of 1,200 North American locations and, toward that end, said a large contingent of company representatives will be in attendance at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon event in Las Vegas, May 20-23.