Mass Merchant

Chicago -- JLL announced the expansion of its retail team with the addition of Bill Moston. Moston joins JLL as a senior VP, National Retail Development, and brings nearly 30 years of experience to JLL. He will be based out of the firm’s Chicago office.

In his new role, Moston will be responsible for advising JLL’s clients and executing on ground-up retail projects, redevelopments and renovations across the United States, as well as managing anchor store negotiations and tenant coordination.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., will open a new store in Oxnard, California. The opening date is scheduled for Feb. 28.

The new store is located in Fremont Square along North Ventura Road and Doris Avenue in North Oxnard.

California is the retailer’s largest state with a total of 68 stores.  Including this new location, dd’s Discounts will operate 156 locations in 15 states.
 

New York -- These are tough times for discount grocery stores — unless the company happens to be the fast-growing Aldi. Pittsburgh-based supermarket operator Giant Eagle plans to close all eight of its Good Cents Grocery + More stores. The closures are set for March 26.

Austin, Texas -- Retail Properties of America, Inc., closed on the acquisition of Cedar Park Town Center, a 181,000-sq.-ft. community center located in Cedar Park, an Austin, Texas submarket. The purchase price was $39.1 million.

The property is situated at the intersection of two major freeways, with visibility and access to more than 73,000 vehicles per day. Cedar Park is shadow-anchored by Costco and is 94.5% occupied and leased to a lineup of national and regional tenants, including At Home, Chipotle, BJ’s Brewhouse and In-N-Out Burger.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Co. on Thursday reported its 11th consecutive quarterly loss, posting a loss of $159 million for the fourth quarter, down from loss of $358 in the year-ago period, amid cost reductions.

The struggling chain saw its losses for the full year widen to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion, marking its fourth straight year of decline. Total long-term debt rose to $3.2 billion from $2.9 billion a year earlier.

The Center for Retailing Excellence just scored another coup with the addition of Walmart COO Judith McKenna to the agenda for an upcoming conference that already included Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

The Center, part of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, is scheduled to hold its annual Emerging Trends in Retail conference on June 11 at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale near Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville headquarters.

Pleasant Prairie, Wis. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of The Plaza at Prairie Ridge located in Pleasant Prairie (Kenosha County), Wisconsin. The 9,035-sq.-ft. three-tenant center was purchased by Mark Cosenza, VP of Oak Brook, Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc. The seller was Milwaukee-based Evo Properties, LLC.