Supply Chain & Merchandising

North Brunswick, N.J. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management Corp. said that Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa has opened a 2,166-sq.-ft. location at The Shoppes at North Brunswick in North Brunswick, N.J.

The open-air lifestyle center is owned by New York-based Garrison Investment Group and managed by Levin Management.

The Shoppes at North Brunswick’s current tenant mix includes Anthropologie, Chico’s and Banana Republic, among others.

New York -- RKF announced that it has arranged four long-term leases for U.K.-based sandwich chain Pret A Manger.

The new stores are located at 655 Sixth Avenue, 319 Broadway, 350 Park Avenue and 303 Park Avenue South. With the addition of these new stores, Pret A Manger will have 36 Manhattan locations.

While the 655 Sixth Avenue location recently opened, the other three locations are slated to open in April.

New York -- Limited Brands is putting the expansion of its teen-favorite Pink division into high gear.

On the chain’s quarterly conference call, company representatives said Pink will more than double its store count this year, growing from 34 stores to 83 stores by yearend.

AMSTERDAM — Keeping stores open during Hurricane Sandy was one of the factors that contributed to an increase in total store sales and comps in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 for Ahold USA, the supermarket operator's Dutch parent company said Thursday.

Ahold attributed its 4.3% increase in sales in the fourth quarter, to $6.1 billion, partially to the Hurricane Sandy effort. The quarter also saw comps increase by 2.4%, while full year sales were $25.8 billion, a 3.1% over 2011, as comps increased by 1.4%.

With 4,000 U.S. stores serving as product depots, same day delivery holds great potential for a retailer with an unrivaled retail footprint, assuming a strategy can be developed to profitably unlock the opportunity.

Walmart has experimented with same day delivery on the west coast where order are fulfilled from stores and a broader rollout of the service would seem inevitable at some point in the future given online shoppers desire for immediate gratification.

New York -- Marks & Spencer, one of the leading retailers in the United Kingdom, is set to unveil a new property lease policy under which all new M&S stores will have ‘green’ clauses as standard enabling landlords and tenants to better manage a building's environmental performance.

Following a year of rapid expansion, specialty apparel retailer Body Central said it will pare new store growth to 25 units in 2013 from 39 openings last year.

Body Central opened 13 stores during the fourth quarter to end the year with 276 units operating under the Body Central and Body Shop banners which, according to the company, target women in their late teens and twenties from diverse cultural backgrounds who seek the latest fashions and a flattering fit.

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon should have plenty to say when he addresses investors March 5 at the 34th Annual Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference.

^{Simon’s comments precede the Raymond James conference but come roughly two weeks after Walmart reported disappointing top line growth at its U.S. stores by posting 1% comp increase that was at the low end of a forecast range calling for a gain of 1% to 3%. The company also issued a tepid outlook for first quarter growth with comps expected to be flat to up 2%.}