Distribution

LA JOLLA, Calif. — Select Target stores are now the exclusive retailer of Bear Naked's newest breakfast cereal.

Bear Naked Nut Cluster Crunch comes in honey almond and maple nut variety is available for a suggested retail price of $3.99.  

Bear Naked, which specializes in natural food products, was designed to give busy, active people the natural energy they need to make the most of their morning.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Donuts on Monday announced it has signed agreements with three franchisees to develop 12 new restaurants throughout Tampa over the next several years.

"The Sunshine State is a priority growth market for Dunkin' Donuts in 2011, and we're excited to expand our footprint in Tampa," said Grant Benson, CFE, VP franchising and market planning, Dunkin' Brands.

Toronto -- J. Crew announced Friday it will open its first Canadian store in August at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, located in Toronto.

The approximately 5000-sq.-ft. store, which will offer women’s-only clothing and accessories, marks J. Crew’s international debut, joining recent market entries by retailers such as Target and Big Lots in leveraging Canada’s relatively strong economy.

Dallas -- The Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group said that Just Fitness 4 U has leased 18,900 sq. ft. of anchor space in Spring Creek Village for the chain’s sixth Dallas-Fort Worth location.

Just Fitness 4 U, which currently operates locations in Dallas, Carrollton, Mesquite, Plano and Hurst, also operates in several national markets, including Atlanta and Salt Lake City. The Weitzman Group is representing the fitness chain on its Dallas-Ft. Worth expansion.

East Palo Alto, Calif. -- Ikea said Wednesday it has plugged in the solar energy installation at its store in East Palo Alto, Calif.

The 38,000-sq.-ft. array consists of a 302-kW system, built with approximately 1,344 panels. The Swedish home furnishings retailer’s program will produce approximately 427,900 kWh of clean electricity annually – the equivalent of reducing 326 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 58 cars or powering 35 homes yearly.

CINCINNATI — Kroger has released its fifth annual sustainability report.

 Some of the highlights noted in the report include:

• Kroger stores reduced overall energy consumption by 30% since 2000. 

• Company-wide, including all facilities, Kroger has saved more than 2.2 billion kilowatt hours.

Cincinnati -- In its fifth annual sustainability report, released Tuesday, The Kroger Co. said it continues to meet its benchmarks, including reducing in-store energy consumption by 30%.

"In 2010, Kroger stores saved enough energy to power the city of Fort Worth for a full year,” said Rodney McMullen, president and COO of Kroger. “We sent less waste to landfills, recycled more plastic, and provided our customers with five million more reusable bags.”

By Eric White, [email protected]

Target’s first stores in Canada are not scheduled to open until 2013, but this week the company can get a glimpse of what it’s up against when Walmart Canada president and CEO David Cheesewright is scheduled to speak at the Jefferies 2011 Global Consumer Conference.

New York City -- Borders Group hopes to name a bidder by July 1 and sell itself by the end of that month, according to bankruptcy court filings, the Associated Press reported. Forty stores previously targeted for closing are also getting a temporary reprieve.

The retailer said in papers filed Friday it plans to name a "stalking horse" bidder by July 1. The company said an auction is likely on July 19, with a sale hearing on July 22 and sale closing on July 29.