Logistics

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. announced it will free delivery and no interest financing if paid in full within 18 months on all appliance purchases over $429.

Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears offer free delivery and installation of major appliances, and now Best Buy does too. The company this week announced what it declared was an industry-leading combination of free delivery along with an 18 months same-as-cash financing offer to spark interest in the appliance category.

New York City -- Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB (Walmex) plans to increase investment by 45% in 2011 from last year as it expands its business in Mexico and Central America, Bloomberg reported.

Capital expenditures will increase to 18.97 billion pesos ($1.56 billion) this year, CEO Scot Rank said in remarks broadcast on the company’s website.

If there was a bright spot to Walmart’s fourth-quarter results it was the international division where sales increased in every country, expansion surged and operating profits increased 9.7% to $5.4 billion on sales that increased 7.6% to $104.8 billion. Those results are on a constant currency basis that assumes foreign exchanges rates are consistent year over year and present a more accurate view of country-by-country performance.

Wake Forest, N.C. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers announced the opening of the anchor tenant, Harris Teeter, for Harris Crossing located in Wake Forest, N.C. Harris Teeter will operate a 53,282-sq.-ft. store.  

Together with partner WelCor Development, Regency closed on the purchase of 15 acres of undeveloped land in 2008 in order to build the 65,150-sq.-ft. neighborhood center which includes 12,150 sq. ft. of small shop space and three outparcels.

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Mid-America Asset Management said that Panda Express signed a lease for 2,400 sq. ft. of space at Scharrington Square in Schaumburg, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago.

Panda Express is slated to open this summer.

Renewing leases at the 187,812-sq.-ft. Scharrington Square are anchor Jewel/Osco for 64,925 sq. ft. of space, and Panera Bread for 4,500 sq. ft. of space, which has plans to add a drive-through service.

Chesapeake, Va. -- Dollar Tree's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 20.4% to $162.5 million amid rising sales and widening margins.

Net sales for the quarter, which ended Jan. 30, increased 10.7% to $1.73 billion . Same-store sales were up 3.9%.

The company's top-performing categories in the quarter included food, party supplies, health and beauty care, and housewares and home products.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy said in fiscal 2012 it will concentrate on growing its smaller-format mobile chain and restructure parts of its supply chain processes to cut costs and improve efficiency. The retailer plans to open about 150 Best Buy Mobile stand-alone-stores in the United States, for a total of some 325 locations by year-end.

Best Buy plans to open about six to eight Best Buy-branded large-format stores in the United States, along with 18 Best Buy stores in Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico during the year.