Retail

Fort Worth, Texas -- Trademark Property Co. said Tuesday that Dick’s Sporting Goods and Corner Bakery Café will open this year at The Shops at La Palmera in Corpus Christi, Texas. The 61,233-sq.-ft. Dick’s store will anchor the 200,000-sq.-ft. redeveloped and rebranded center, located across from La Palmera mall. Construction on Dick’s is set to begin in February with opening slated for fall 2013.

Scheduled to open in May is a 4,166-sq.-ft. Corner Bakery Café, adding to its 140 locations across the country.

Shrewsbury, N.J. -- National Realty & Development Corp. said Tuesday that Colonial American Bank has joined the line-up of tenants at Shrewsbury Plaza, located in Shrewsbury, N.J.

Colonial American Bank’s location in the 225,000-sq.-ft. shopping center is the bank’s second location in New Jersey and is slated to open spring 2013.

Anchor tenants at the center include Marshalls, Acme and AC Moore.

Dallas -- Real estate investment firm The Cogent Group said Tuesday that it has acquired 15 KFC properties in North Carolina. The properties are leased to a franchisee.
 
The 15 units are located in prime retail corridors in the North Carolina Triad market consisting of Greensboro, Winston Salem, and High Point, with above average unit sales. The properties are subject to long-term triple net leases having an initial term of 20 years, plus renewal options.
 

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. announced the promotion of Jeff Burt as president of the company's Central division. Kroger's Central Division operates 136 food stores primarily in Indiana and Illinois.

Burt, 50, has been group VP of perishables merchandising and procurement since 2010. He succeeds Bob Moeder, who recently announced his plans to retire this spring.

New York -- Duane Reade announced that its 250 plus stores are integrating into Niantic Labs' new mobile game, Ingress. The drugstore chain is one of the first retail partners in the New York metropolitan area for "Ingress," which blends the physical and virtual world to create a one-of-a-kind gaming experience.

Toronto -- Mood Media announced that it is consolidating its portfolio companies — Muzak, DMX and Mood Media — into a single global brand under the Mood banner. Mood acquired Muzak, which was founded in 1934, in 2011.  

“It’s the end of an iconic American brand,” said Lorne Abony, chairman and CEO Mood Media, in a New York Times report.
    

Arlington, Va. -- The passage of comprehensive tax reform and a more level playing field between online retailers and Main Street retailers for sales tax collection top the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s public policy priorities for 2013.

According to RILA, the retail industry pays among the highest domestic effective tax rates at 36.4% more than 10 percentage points higher than the average for all other industries.

By Jeff Weidauer, [email protected]