Retail Execution

Digital media company Specific Media and Nielsen have joined forces to offer a new platform called Retail Connect designed to address what the firms regard as a gap between offline and online advertising.

According to Specific Media, the Retail Connect platform will allow for more effective advertising for brands as well as consumers because it leverages Nielsen’s Buyer Insights aggregate data about in-store consumption habits and online behaviors to inform an optimized and efficient approach to online advertising.

Shelton, Conn. -- TABS Group, a technology-enabled analytics firm, has announced the formation of a senior-level team dedicated to supporting internal and customer-related initiatives with Walmart.

TABS Group will tap into its new talent base to obtain a comprehensive understanding as to how the largest U.S. retail chain operates on a chain and local level. The insights gained will benefit Walmart and consumer products manufacturers and further contributes to the firm's mission to simplify and improve the way analytics is conducted within the industry.

Following a successful launch in China earlier this year, Hershey is ready to introduce its first new brand to the U.S. market in three decades.

New York — Planet Fitness has net leased a freestanding building on Fulton Street, a major retail corridor in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. From basement to second floor, the three level building will encompass 22,500 sq. ft. with 7,500 sq. ft. on the ground floor. The second floor is currently under construction, and the entire building is being renovated to fit the gym concept.

Crown Retail represented Planet Fitness, while Winick Realty Group represented the landlord, Infinity Real Estate LLC.

Fort Worth, Texas — Trademark Property Co. has announced the appointment of Daniel Goldware as VP of leasing. Goldware will initially work on Waterside, Trademark’s new 63-acre master planned, mixed-use development under construction in Fort Worth, as well as Victory Park in downtown Dallas.

Goldware comes to Trademark from Weingarten Realty Investors where he served as a leasing executive in both Dallas and Houston for the past seven years.

Rockville, Md. — Super Chicken has taken 3,436 sq. ft. of space at Waldorf Shoppers World in Waldorf, Md. The restaurant specializes in Peruvian-style chicken dishes and operates seven locations in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

Divaris Real Estate represented the tenant, Chicken Rico Waldorf in the lease negotiations.

Sister publication Drug Store News has learned that Mary Kelly has been appointed EVP and chief merchandising officer at Rexall Pharma Plus.

Kelly, who has more than 26 years of experience leading business teams in Canada and the United States, joins the company after four years at Shoppers Drug Mart, most recently as EVP, merchandising and category management. Prior to that, Kelly served 17 years at Target in a variety of key leadership positions in merchandising and pharmacy, and at Revco Drug Stores and Eli Lilly before that. 

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is opening its first store in Maricopa, Ariz., on Oct. 10. The new store is approximately 11,615 sq. ft. and will feature a perishable food department, including produce, dairy and frozen foods.

99 Cents Only currently operates 331 retail stores consisting of 238 stores in California, 44 in Texas, 32 in Arizona, and 17 in Nevada.