Supermarket/Grocery

Dallas -- Regency Centers Corp. has closed on an off-market acquisition of Preston Oaks, a 103,503-sq.-ft. infill neighborhood center anchored by H-E-B Central Market. National retailers include Gap, Pier 1 Imports and White House Black Market.

Located in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas, Preston Oaks serves a market of 109,000 within a three-mile radius. Average household income is $144,000. The market’s population swells to 118,000 during the day.

Washington, D.C. -- Los Angeles, New York and Chicago top the list of the cities with the highest organized retail crime activity, with Miami and Atanta rounding out the top five, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF’s ninth annual Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Survey found that while organized crime has inched down slightly, it remains widespread. Over 90% (93.5%) of retailers said they had been a victim of organized retail crime during the past year, down from 96% the prior year.

A lot of buzz this week about Amazon expanding a long-running grocery delivery program in its hometown of Seattle to the Los Angeles area and what it might mean for food retailers. The answer for now is, not much.

Newark, N.J. -- Tucker Development Corp. has signed a deal with Wakefern Food Corp. retail cooperative to bring a 67,000-sq.-ft. ShopRite grocery store to Springfield Avenue Marketplace in Newark, N.J.

Wakefern is the merchandising and distribution arm for ShopRite stores.

The new ShopRite will anchor the 125,000-sq.-ft. center set to break ground this fall. When complete, the center will serve approximately 280,000 Newark residents, 180,000 employees and 60,000 college students and faculty.

Greenwich, Conn. -- Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. has acquired two retail properties on Putnam Avenue (US Route 1) in Greenwich, Conn., for $18 million.

West Putnam Plaza is a 9,300-sq.-ft. retail strip center shadow-anchored by a Stop & Shop supermarket. National tenants include Cosi and JP Morgan Chase Bank. A wine retailer, day spa and women’s fitness studio round out the tenant list.

The second property is Cos Cob Plaza, a 15,000-sq.-ft. retail and office center. Tenants include Jos. A. Bank.

LENEXA, Kan. — A little more than two weeks after bringing in former Safeway executive Steve Rempel as its new president and CEO, Balance Innovations has named Jay Atkinson its EVP of business development. 

In this role, Atkinson will be responsible for managing the national sales team, as well as the development and execution of the company's sales strategy.

Leominster, Mass. -- Vintage Real Estate has purchased The Mall at Whitney Field, a 700,000-sq.-ft. regional shopping center in Leominster, Mass., about 35 miles west of Boston. Anchors include Macy’s, Sears, J.C. Penney, Market Basket, Toys “R” Us and Old Navy.

Concurrent with the acquisition, Burlington Coat Factor signed a 10-year lease for a 66,000-sq.-ft. space formerly occupied by Circuit City.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco reported net sales of $8.1 billion for May 2013, an increase of 7% from $7.6 billion during the same period last year.

For the 39-week period ended June 2, the company reported net sales of $77 billion, an increase of 8% from $71 billion during the same period last year.

The company’s same-store sales rose 5% in May, but they were lower than anticipated because of the negative impact of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates.