Supermarket/Grocery

Columbia, S.C. — Edens Investment Trust has closed a $1.47 billion equity transaction composed of the $718 million sale of a 29% equity stake in the company and a $750 million equity commitment from the company’s institutional investors.

In the sales transaction, a Blackstone-sponsored real estate investment vehicle acquired a $718 million stake in Edens from the State of Michigan Retirement System.

E-commerce has redefined the retail shopping experience and shaped the fate of retailers in many sectors. Grocers have been the exception thus far, but that is about to change in a major way.

Discount grocer Aldi is launching a five-year strategic plan to open 650 new stores across the United States. The chain launched its expansion efforts with the decision to build its regional headquarters and distribution center in Moreno Valley, Calif.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Unsurprisingly, crowds and long lines are the single biggest consumer dread for the holiday season. According to a new Consumer Reports poll, 61% of consumers dread crowds and long lines, followed by bad traffic (54%).

Batavia, Ill. – Discount grocer Aldi is launching a five-year strategic plan to open 650 new stores across the United States. The chain launched its expansion efforts with the decision to build its regional headquarters and distribution center in Moreno Valley, Calif.

Tucson, Ariz. — Yotagious Frozen Yogurt of Thatcher has leased a 1,500-sq.-ft. space at the Gila Valley Shopping Center in Thatcher, Ariz., and plans to open in the early spring of 2014.

The Tucson office of CBRE represented Gila Valley’s owners in the transaction.

Bedminster, N.J. — Liberty Travel has leased a 1,853-sq.-ft. space at The Hills Village Center in Bedminster, N.J., according to Levin Management, the exclusive leasing and managing agent for the property.

Relocation Realty represented Liberty Travel in the transaction. Liberty’s neighbors in the 109,800-sq.-ft. center include Kings Supermarket, CVS, Starbucks, Great Clips, Cold Stone Creamery, The UPS Store, GNC and Subway.

Big data discovery and data sharing firm 1010data, Inc., named former Oracle exec Richard Michalec as its AVP of retail strategy and strategic accounts.

Boston – Massachusetts retail price scanners reportedly operate at a 99.8% accuracy rate. According to the Associated Press, the Massachusetts Division of Standards checked scanners at 98 different stores of 50 retailers across a wide range of verticals and discovered five overcharges out of about 2,800 individual price scans.

New York -- While retail and consumer organizations have made significant security improvements, they have not kept pace in today’s business environment and are relying on yesterday’s security practices to combat current business threats and risks, according to PwC US’s recently released 2014 Global State of Information Security Survey.