Retail

Dallas -- J. C. Penney Company announced that as part of its turnaround efforts it will close 33 underperforming stores across the country. The shutterings, which will result in the elimination of about 2,000 positions, are expected to result in an annual cost savings of approximately $65 million, beginning in 2014.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has brokered the sale of two centers on behalf of Retail Properties of America.
 
First, Phillips Edison & Company purchased the 134,229-sq.-ft. Duck Creek Plaza in Bettendorf, Iowa, for $19.7 million. Schnucks and Marshalls anchor Duck Creek Plaza, and Home Depot serves as a shadow anchor. Mid-America Real Estate Corp. in cooperation with Mid-America Real Estate — Iowa LLC brokered the transaction exclusively on behalf of RPAI.

Victory Electronic Cigarettes announced that Bill Fields, former president and CEO of Walmart stores division, will join its board of directors.  

Tucson, Ariz. — Big-box retail space in Tucson, Ariz., has been leasing up, with the highest demand focused in core regional mall hubs. Big-box spaces in peripheral areas of the city remain vacant.

In the Park Place Mall area, for instance, big box properties are nearly fully leased, with some saying the area is ripe for redevelopment to accommodate future demand.

New York -- Consumers engage with retailers on Facebook more than they do on the retailers’ own websites. Nine-in-10 consumers say how much they spend is impacted by their social media engagement with a brand. These are some of the findings of a study by Infosys, a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing.

GameStop reported increases in global and same-store sales for the nine-week holiday sales period ended Jan. 4, but results missed analysts’ expectations thanks to a greater-than-expected decline in sales of new game titles for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

New York -- Despite severe winter weather travails during the holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday that December retail sales didn’t take the hit that many feared.

In fact, taking advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals, shoppers were able to move the December retail sales needle up 0.4% month-to-month, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, and up 4.6% year-over-year.



New York -- Checkpoint Systems announced that Kohl’s Department Stores has deployed Checkpoint’s RFID solutions across select departments in its stores.

“RFID will further enhance our customers’ shopping experience by providing improved operational visibility, enabling us to more efficiently identify items which need to be replenished on the sales floor,” said Ken Bonning, senior executive VP, Kohl’s Department Stores.