Maitland, Fla. — Equinox Development Properties Inc. has hired Genny Hall as senior vice president and a partner to oversee the leasing for all developments and retailer relationships. Hall has more than 15 years of retail brokerage experience. Prior to joining Equinox, Hall served as the managing director of retail services at Colliers International in Central Florida. Maitland, Florida-based Equinox Development specializes in developing retail, mixed-use and boutique commercial projects.
In today’s volatile retail real estate climate, there is ample need for redevelopment or value-add acquisitions. Tri-Land, a Chicago-based owner and operator, is one such company known for repositioning underperforming retail centers. Established in 1978, the company is launching two new investment funds beginning in July. The two funds — which combined total $30 million — seek to purchase between four and eight properties over a 30-month period. The strategy of the investment funds will be to acquire properties located in Midwest and Southeast markets, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas …
New York City — Elliott Management Corp. has agreed to acquire Barnes & Noble for $683 million, or $6.50 per share. In 2014, Barnes & Noble closed its New York Fifth Avenue store, which was once the world’s largest bookstore. The company operates 627 stores in all 50 states. Elliott, which acquired the U.K.’s largest book retailer, Waterstones, last year, will become the largest bookseller in the U.S. when the acquisition is finalized. The deal is expected to close by the end of September. Barnes & Noble has been exploring …
Mahwah, N.J. — Dressbarn, a women’s apparel retailer, plans to eventually close all 650 of its stores nationwide. The New Jersey-based company is winding down its retail operations and plans to assist its 6,800 associates with transition support as individual stores close. “For more than 50 years, Dressbarn has served women’s fashion needs, and we thank all of our dedicated associates for their commitment to Dressbarn and our valued customers,” says Steven Taylor, Dressbarn’s chief financial officer. “This decision was difficult, but necessary, as the Dressbarn chain has not been …
New York City — Richard Johnson and Charlie Koniver have launched Odyssey Retail Advisors LLC, an expansion and rebranding of Johnson Retail RE Consulting Inc. Johnson and Koniver both previously worked for global luxury group, Kering. Johnson is an attorney and member of the New York State Bar and created Johnson Retail, serving clients such as Crown Acquisitions/Wynn Las Vegas, Boston Seaport, Burberry, Stella McCartney, Sergio Rossi and Clarins. Koniver previously collaborated with Johnson while serving as a real estate specialist for the Americas at Kering. Daniel Lewis has joined Odyssey …
Memphis, Tenn. — Fred’s Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED), a discount chain and pharmacy, will close 159 underperforming U.S. stores, approximately 30 percent of the company’s total footprint. Memphis, Tennessee-based Fred’s will have about 400 general merchandise stores left open following this round of closures. Fred’s, which competes with smaller-format discount retailers like Dollar General as well as big-box stores like Walmart, also owns and operates two additional chains: Getwell Drug & Dollar and Yazoo Trading Co. The majority of those stores house full-service pharmacy departments, but the company is also looking …
Virginia Beach, Va. — Alex Divaris, executive vice president of Divaris Real Estate Inc., died April 8 due to complications from colon cancer. He was 40 years old. Divaris assisted local, regional and national investors, users and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of retail, office and industrial properties in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. He earned a bachelor’s degree of business administration in finance from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and sat on the board of directors of the …
Chicago — Cushman & Wakefield has established a new Sports & Entertainment Advisory Group to provide solutions for designing, building, financing, operating and maximizing revenue streams for athletic and entertainment venues. The new S&E Advisory Group includes partnerships with industry leaders such as Chicago-based sports and entertainment marketing firm W Partners. The group will serve sports franchise owners, local governments and municipalities, private owners of entertainment venues and public and private universities. It will also provide advisory services for arenas, stadiums, adjacent retail and entertainment complexes, amphitheaters, convention centers, motorsports …
Irving, Texas — Following a merger with the parent company of the Chuck E. Cheese brand, London-based Leo Holdings Corp. plans to rebrand itself and take the new company public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “CEC.” The enterprise value of the combined company, which will be known as Chuck E. Cheese Brands Inc., is estimated at $1.4 billion. Leo Holdings, which is self-described as a special purpose acquisition firm, has entered into a “definitive business combination agreement” with Queso Holdings Corp., which is the …
Hamilton, Bermuda — Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG), which owns jewelry retailers Kay, Zales and Jared, will close approximately 150 North American stores after the 2019 holiday shopping season, the company said in its latest earnings report. These store closings follow Signet’s previous shuttering of 262 stores, most of them in North America, and are part of a larger downsizing program that will reduce the Bermuda-based retailer’s total store count by 13 percent over a three-year period. According to the earnings report, Signet’s same-store sales declined by 2 percent during the …