Mass Merchant

A combination of sluggish mall traffic, a shaky sporting goods industry, and poorly performing merchandise took a toll on The Finish Line in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2016.  

Hy-Vee shoppers will soon be able to buy new clothes while they grocery shop.    Two Hy-Vee locations in Nebraska will soon feature F&F clothing boutiques through the Iowa-based retailer’s franchise agreement with the British clothing line owned by supermarket company Tesco, reported The Anchorage Press.  

The Pinnacle Nord du Lac Shopping Center on the north end of the world’s longest bridge — the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway — is adding about 30% to its size.   Property owner Cypress equities has begun construction on an 94,500 sq. ft. of GLA that will house new lifestyle retail and restaurants at the Covington, Louisiana, center that currently spans 327,000 ft.  

The baton has officially been passed at Macy’s.   Jeff Gennette has been named as the department store chain’s new CEO, succeeding Terry Lundgren, who will continue as executive chairman.   Gennette, who has served as Macy’s president since 2014, is Lundgren’s handpicked successor. Prior to becoming president, he was appointed Macy’s chief merchandising officer in 2009.  

Despite dire statements made on a recent SEC filing, Sears and Kmart stores will remain as fixtures on the retail landscape for some time to come, according to retail real estate experts contacted by Chain Store Age.   “The news was not news,” said REIT analyst Alexander Goldfarb of Sandler O’Neill + Partners about a Sears filing that questioned its own future as a “going concern.”  

In the wake of mounting losses and increasing doubts about its viability, Sears Holding Corp. is facing pull back from some of its vendors.   That is according to a report by Reuters, which said that suppliers to Sears are becoming more defensive to protect themselves from the risk of nonpayment by doing such things as reducing shipments and asking for better payment terms.  

Sears Canada Inc. is going all out with its plans for an in-store off-price shop.   The chain will unveil the dedicated shop, called The Cut, this spring, and plans to roll it out to all its 94 stores. The off-price concept launched its own e-commerce website last week.      The Cut will take up from 30,000 sq. ft. to 40,000 sq. ft. inside the stores and will be evenly split between apparel and home offerings, according to Women’s Wear Daily.       

The Food Marketing Institute and National Retail Federation will combine their existing risk and safety signature events into one cross-industry event starting in 2018.   The two groups will sponsor Protect in 2018, according to an announcement made Wednesday at the FMI’s Audit, Safety, Asset Protection Conference in Orlando.