Supply Chain & Merchandising

Atlanta -- Midwest department store operator Von Maur will enter the Atlanta market, taking over a fomer Belk’s space at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., pending approval by the city's design review board, Atlanta Business News reported.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney reported a better-than-expected increase in third-quarter profit Friday, crediting controlled costs and positive response to its newest exclusive brands, which include Liz Claiborne and MNG by Mango, and its Sephora in-store cosmetic boutiques.

The chain posted a profit of $44 million in the period ended Oct. 30, compared with $27 million a year ago. Total sales increased 0.2% to $4.19 billion, up from $4.18 billion in the third quarter last year. Same-store sales rose 1.9%.

Northbrook, Ill. -- Pine Tree Commercial Realty announced it has acquired Loch Leven Plaza in the Orlando, Fla. suburbs, expanding Pine Tree’s portfolio to include the state of Florida.

The company purchased the Publix-anchored shopping center in Mt. Dora, Fla., on Nov. 5. Pine Tree will be handling the property management and leasing for the center.

Publix occupies 54,340 sq. ft. at the new plaza and opened last May. The center, which was completed in March, is 99% leased.

Portland, Texas  -- Hibbit Sports has opened a 4,000-sq.-ft. store at Northshore Plaza, in Portland, Texas.

The shopping center is owned by New York City-based Centro Properties Group.

New York City -- New Street Realty Advisors, LLC announced a lease transaction between Whitehall Properties II, LLC, the owners of The Caroline at 706 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, and Just Salad.

The 3,000-sq.-ft. ground floor space is located on the east side of Sixth Avenue between East 22nd Street and East 23rd Street.

Just Salad is slated to open in the spring.

Just Salad currently has five locations in New York City and two locations in Hong Kong.

Beachwood, Ohio -- Developers Diversified Realty Corp. announced that the company's joint venture in Brazil, Sonae Sierra Brasil, has opened a nearly 60,000-sq.-ft. expansion at Parque Dom Pedro Shopping, now a 1.3 million-sq.-ft. enclosed mall in Campinas, Brazil.

Barcelona, Spain -- Tommy Hilfiger Europe has selected an electronic invoicing software from IBM to reduce the cost of cross-border and domestic trading by automating its electronic invoicing processes.

Santa Barbara, Calif. -- Investec announced it has raised $130 million for acquisition of grocery- and drug-anchored centers located in the coastal region of California.