Supply Chain & Merchandising

Greenville, S.C. -- Grocer Bi-Lo LLC said Monday that it has acquired southern supermarket chain Winn-Dixie, in a $560 million transaction that will take Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. private and create the largest grocery operator in the South.

The merger will combine Winn-Dixie’s 480 supermarkets in five southern states (Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi) with Bi-Lo’s 207 stores in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee to create a company with 690 stores and 63,000 workers in eight states.

Tarrytown, N.Y. – DLC Management Corp. announced a new deal signed with Wal-Mart Stores to open a 44,271-sq.-ft. Walmart Market at DLC’s Bethesda Walk Shopping Center in Lawrenceville, Ga.

The deal, which was finalized on November 21, marks the grocery-only concept’s first store in the Atlanta metro area.

WASHINGTON — AAA forecasts 91.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the 2011-2012 year-end holiday travel season, a 1.4% increase over the 90.7 million people who traveled one year ago, the travel organization announced earlier this week. This year’s expected year-end holiday travel volume is the second-highest in the past decade and represents 30% of the total U.S. population.

Granada Hills, Calif. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said that it has leased 7,083 sq. ft. of retail space in Granada Hills, Calif., among three new tenants at Granada Village.

Carter’s leased 3,866 sq. ft., and hair salon Fantastic Sams leased 1,217 sq. ft.  Both are slated to open for business in March 2012. Opening in second quarter 2012, Freebirds World Burrito has leased 2,000 sq. ft. of restaurant space.

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Aries Deitch & Endelson said that a lease was recently signed by TJX Cos. for a 32,000-sq.-ft. T.J. Maxx store slated to open this spring at Westchester County’s Ridge Hill, the New York metropolitan area’s largest mixed-use outdoor shopping center. 

Located in Yonkers, the lifestyle center, which is owned by Forest City Ratner Cos., spans more than 81.4 acres and includes 1.3 million sq. ft.

South Bend, Ind. -- Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group said that Biggby Coffee has leased space at Eddy Street Commons at Notre Dame, located South Bend, Ind.

The coffee retailer leased 1,501 sq. ft. for its first Indiana location and will open spring 2012.

Eddy Street Commons is a mixed-use development located adjacent to the University of Notre Dame campus and featuring 90,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 266 apartments, 49 condos, 20 courtyard townhomes, 60 flats, 62 city homes and 82,000 sq. ft. of office space.
 

Montreal -- A survey released Friday by e-commerce visitor feedback analytics firm iPerceptions found that, despite online retail sales being up, online retailers are missing out on revenue opportunities.

Third quarter 2011 Retail Ecommerce industry report showed that, while U.S. retail sales estimates show online retail spending rose 13% year-over-year to $36.3 billion for the quarter, task completion fell significantly for visitors at nearly every stage of the retail purchase cycle.

There’s nothing wrong with most of the consumer electronics items that get returned to stores, according to new research by Accenture. A study by the firm found that defects only account for about 5% of the returns and the rest of the time buyers’ remorse (27%) or a perceived flaw (68%) results in the item being returned.