Mass Merchant

Southfield, Michigan-based Versa Development has purchased Cascade Crossing in Sault Ste. Marie for $11.5 million.    Mid-America Real Estate Corp. handled the sale on behalf of the seller, DDR Corp.   Situated at the junction of Interstate 75 and 3 Mile Road in the Canadian border town, the 276,361-sq.-ft. center is anchored by Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, TJ Maxx, and Jo-Ann Fabrics.  

As the loyalty landscape heats up, TJX Companies is renewing its existing program to remain competitive.   The off-price retailer announced a multi-year renewal of its partnership with Synchrony, a move that will continue to support financing for its five-year-old Rewards Credit Card program.   

Thinking about setting up shop between 49th and 60th Streets on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue? Better be prepared to pay big bucks.   The upper part of Fifth Avenue is the most expensive retail street in the world (based on rental value), with rents rising to a whopping $3,500 per square foot in 2015, according to the 27th edition of Cushman & Wakefield’s report, Main Streets Across The World.  

Clint Pierce is joining Shoe Carnival as its VP, divisional merchandise manager for athletic footwear.   Pierce, who will oversee the athletic footwear category for the entire enterprise, will report to Carl Scibetta, executive VP, chief merchandising officer.    Most recently, Pierce served as senior VP, general merchandise manager for footwear and apparel at Sports Authority.   

Macy’s on Friday became the first department store retailer to open an in-store Apple shop.   The shop is located on the main floor of Macy’s New York City flagship in Herald Square. Similar to in-store Apple shops at Best Buy, it features light wood tables. The product line-up includes iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Apple watches.  

Save-A-Lot may be facing a possible spin-off from parent company Supervalu, but the chain is still bullish about its future.    Supervalu is expected to announce the fate of its discount grocery banner next week, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported, with Toronto private equity firm Onex Corp. the leading bidder if Supervalu does pursue a sale. 

An assessor processes your annually filed personal property tax return and assigns a value based on the cost of and age of your store fixtures. Is that assessment correct?    Increasingly the answer is “no” in a fast-changing retail environment in which online sales are turning in-store shelves into museum pieces. Online sales have increased 75.8%, to $341.7 billion, over the past five years alone. Statista forecasts that to double by 2020.  

Walmart is upping some managers’ salaries in anticipation of the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule, scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, 2016.     The retailer, the nation’s private employer, raised salaries for entry-level managers from $45,000 to $48,500 annually, Reuters reported, with the increase going into effect in September. Under the new rule, employers are required to pay overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,500 a year. The current threshold is $23,660 a year.