Sales & Marketing

Coral Springs, Fla. -- Sephora at J.C. Penney will open a 1,500-sq.-ft. location at Coral Square Mall, in Coral Springs, in mid-April. Francesca’s Collections is also slated to open in mid-April.

Coral Square Mall, owned by Simon Property Group, features anchor stores Macy’s/Ladies Apparel, Macy’s/Men's, Children & Home Store, J.C. Penney and Sears, as well as more than 120 specialty stores and eateries.

Ramsey, N.J. -- Welco Realty, an X Team partner, announced that it has signed a lease with Modell’s Sporting Goods for its new smaller-concept store, the retailer’s first in New Jersey.

The store is approximately 8,551 sq. ft., about half its standard size. Modell’s first small-format store opened on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan.
 

Salem, Ore. -- Anthropologie and the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance (CFCA) announced a joint initiative in all 153 Anthropologie stores in the United States and United Kingdom to increase awareness and promote the preservation of Mediterranean cork forests, one of the planet’s most important ecosystems.

HOUSTON — Sharps Compliance's TakeAway envelope solution is making its way to Kroger and its family of stores.

Kroger, which operates stores under several banners across 31 states, will offer the the medication disposal envelopes at its pharmacy counters. The goal: To offer a safe and environmentally-responsible means of disposing unused, expired or unwanted noncontrolled prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Kroger joins such retailers as Rite Aid, which recently implemented Sharps Compliance's TakeAway program in its stores.

Irvine, Calif. -- Private-equity firm Apax Partners will acquire California-based ERP software range developer, Epicor Software and Activant Solutions, a provider of business management software solutions. Apax will pay a total of $2 billion for the acquisitions and combine the two companies.

WARREN, Mich. -- Art Van Furniture has announced the debut of its new outdoor furniture line, "Art's Backyard."

According to the company the line features more than a 1000 items including  collections from Michigan made Lloyd/Flanders and Woodard as well as Jimmie's Rustics and Treasure Garden Inc.  

NEW YORK, NY -- Walmart has endured its fair share of criticism in the press, and now a new study reveals that the world's largest retailer has garnered some negative views in the realm of social media.

Accordin to Amplicate, an online opinion collating resource that claims to account for more than 80 million public opinions of social media users, there has been over 9,985 negative Walmart opinions (http://amplicate.com/hate/walmart) expressed on Twitter, Facebook and Amplicate within the last 3 months.

Bedminster, N.J. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management Corp. said that Great Clips has opened a 960-sq.-ft. salon, and Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa (2,317 sq. ft.) along with eateries Panchero's (2,500 sq. ft.) and Subway (1,240 sq. ft.) will all open shortly at The Hills Village Center, in Bedminster, N.J.