Mass Merchant

Cincinnati — Phillips Edison Grocery Center Reit II Inc. has purchased the Old Alabama Square center in Alpharetta, Ga. Old Alabama Square is a 103,268-sq.-ft. shopping center anchored by the Fresh Market.

This acquisition adds the first Fresh Market grocery-anchored shopping center to the company’s portfolio. The center also features national tenants Walgreens, Firehouse Subs, Verizon Wireless and State Farm.

Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell commented on the chain’s new partnership with CVS Health in a Q&A on Target’s blog, A Bullseye View. Here are some excerpts: 

Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell commented on the chain’s new partnership with CVS Health in a Q&A on Target’s blog, A Bullseye View. Here are some excerpts: 

NEW YORK — Veteran retail, hospitality, airport and commercial facilities architect and designer Anthony Deen has joined brand agency and retail design consultancy CBX as creative director, branded environments.

In his position, Deen will partner with senior management in shaping the vision for retail, restaurant and hospitality clients’ branded environments that are relevant in the marketplace.

Deen comes to CBX from Landor, a brand consulting and design firm in New York City, where he was creative director, environment design since 2011.  

Toronto, Canada —Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is positioning itself for major global expansion with the purchase of the 15-year-old Galeria Kaufhof department store chain from German retail conglomerate Metro Group for about $3.17 billion. The planned purchase includes 103 Galeria Kaufof stores in Germany, as well as 16 German Sportarena stores and 16 Galeria Inno department stores in Belgium.

Gap Inc. is planning to close 175 of its Gap stores and streamline its workforce by as many as 250 positions as the struggling retailer moves to re-ignite productivity and growth at its namesake brand.

The company says the series of strategic actions are part of a comprehensive effort to deliver more consistent and compelling product collections and engage customers across all channels.

Woonsocket, R.I., and Minneapolis —Target plans to sell its pharmacy business to CVS Health for $1.9 billion and rebrand its nearly 1,700 prescription departments as CVS/pharmacy in a blockbuster deal that stunned the healthcare world.

Toronto, Canada — Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is positioning itself for major global expansion with the purchase of the 15-year-old Galeria Kaufhof department store chain from German retail conglomerate Metro Group for about $3.17 billion. The planned purchase includes 103 Galeria Kaufof stores in Germany, as well as 16 German Sportarena stores and 16 Galeria Inno department stores in Belgium.