Retail

Phoenix — Vestar has appointed Clint Marchuk VP of acquisitions. His responsibilities include identifying, evaluating and carrying out shopping center acquisitions in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.

Sweaty Betty

There’s a new high-end fashion activewear brand in town, and this one speaks with a British accent. London-based Sweaty Betty opened its first two U.S outposts last year, one in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, and one in Greenwich, Conn. A third is expected to open in 2014.

Pittsburgh - GNC Holdings Inc. is launching a month-long fundraising and awareness campaign for Run With Us at more than 5,000 GNC stores and online at GNC.com. Run With Us is a curriculum-based health-=and-wellness program that brings elite track & field athletes and aspiring Olympians into the classroom to demonstrate how exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand with goal setting and self-esteem.

Groupe Dynamite eases global expansion with new tech platform

Having the potential for growth that exceeds the capability of your existing systems is a good problem to have, but it is still a problem. Groupe Dynamite, a fast-fashion women’s apparel retailer based in Montreal, faced that very challenge in early 2010.

Framingham, Mass. - Staples is launching its new Staples EasyTech Total Support plan, which provides consumers and small businesses with comprehensive technology services for both their new and old PCs, including upgrades, maintenance and installations. The service builds on Staples’ EasyTech program that launched in 2007, and helps customers make more happen with their devices.

New law has implications for workers’ compensation

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Donuts, has launched “FinDD Eli”, an interactive on-the-cup instant win game available in the New York metro area. The peel-and-reveal game will be featured on specially marked medium and large iced beverage cups at participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurants, while supplies last

In general, the top acquirers of 2013 logged big gains over 2012

Editor’s Note: The 25th annual Chain Store Age survey of Fastest-Growing Acquirers surveyed retail square footage purchased during the 2013 calendar year.

Lenders are lending again, the equity markets are investing again, and buyers and sellers appear to be moving retail real estate faster than last year — which was a relatively good recovery year.