Retail

Washington, D.C. -- Total retail sales increased 0.1% in April from March, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Commerce Department. The increase, an improvement from a 0.5% decline in March, beat the 0.3% drop economists had predicted in a Bloomberg survey.  

Excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, sales  increased 0.6% seasonally adjusted from last month and increased 3.9% unadjusted year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.

GREAT NECK, N.Y. — FamilyPet Network has re-launched its revamped e-commerce platform, Coupaw.com — a site that offers pet owners deals on a wide variety of pet care products and services.

The newly designed site features a streamlined user interface, an improved shopping cart and faster order-to-checkout processing speeds. Coupaw.com offers daily deals to users on items like pet supplies, treats, pet sitting services and home goods.

Brisbane, Calif. -- Veteran entrepreneur and executive Narry Singh has been named to the board of directors of Bebe Stores.

Singh, who holds more than 20 years of business experience with a focus on digital entertainment, new media, software and e-commerce, was most recently chief executive of mobile entertainment provider Outfit7.
 

European apparel retailer H&M and Inditex, parent company of fashion retailer Zara, are signing on to the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, an independent, legally-binding agreement to guarantee safe working conditions in the Bangladeshi garment industry. 

H&M is a top purchaser of garments from Bangladesh, and hopes that the agreement leads to “far-reaching improvements in working conditions.” 

By Rafi Musher, [email protected]

Cleveland -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has named Craig M. Fuller director of the firm’s National Retail Group and Net Leased Properties Group in Cleveland.

Fuller joined Marcus & Millichap in June 2008. He specializes in the sale of both multi-tenant and single-tenant net-leased retail investment properties throughout the Midwest with a special focus on Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Seattle -- The national vacancy rate for shopping centers dropped slightly from 10.09% to 10.06% in the first quarter of 2013, according to a study by global real estate services company Colliers International. In addition, shopping centers absorbed nearly 4.5 million sq. ft. in the first quarter.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners said it has appointed Bob Taylor as senior VP in the New York office.

This is Taylor’s second stint with SRS.  In his first, he directed Hard Rock Café’s national expansion and relocation efforts. Taylor will be focused on tenant and landlord representation for the New York team, and returns to SRS from Cassidy Turley, The Staubach Co., and Staubach Retail.