KrogerKroger is not coming to Cumberland Mall after all.
The deal to take over the top floor of Sears, which was supposed to happen later this year, has fallen through, according to a Kroger spokesman.
“Kroger was pursuing a lease agreement with Sears, Roebuck and Co., to open a 88,000-square-foot Kroger store inside Cumberland Mall,” Glynn Jenkins, spokesman for Kroger’s Atlanta division, said in a statement.
“However, Sears chose to transfer this asset to Seritage Growth Properties – a real estate investment trust (REIT) company,” Jenkins said. “We had anticipated signing a lease and are disappointed that it wasn’t executed.”
The addition of a Kroger store at Cumberland would have been the latest twist in the reshaping of metro Atlanta malls amid fundamental shifts in retailing and consumer behavior.
As consumers have increasingly moved online to shop, mall foot traffic has slipped and their share of the retail pie – which peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s – has diminished.
Macy’s formally announced last week that it is closing its store at North DeKalb Mall, one of 36 being shuttered nationally because of disappointing 2015 sales for the Cincinnati-based company.
Publix CEO retires, Jones head grocer
LAKELAND, Fla., – Ed Crenshaw announced Wednesday he will retire as CEO of Publix Super Markets on April 30.
Crenshaw began his Publix career in 1974 as a front-service clerk in Lake Wales, Fla. and by 1991 rose through management ranks to start the Atlanta Division as division vice president. He was promoted to executive vice president of retail in 1994 and to president in 1996. He was named CEO in 2008.
“The board of directors is grateful for Ed’s 42 years of dedicated service to Publix, our associates and the communities we serve,” said Charlie Jenkins Jr., Publix Chairman of the Board.
Upon Crenshaw’s retirement, President Todd Jones will become President and CEO.
Russia says budget cuts needed to avoid crash
MOSCOW – Russia’s leaders are warning the government will need to make more cutbacks if the nation is to avoid a repeat of the 1998 financial crash, the country’s biggest post-Soviet economic trauma.
The economy, which is heavily reliant on its massive oil and gas industry, is getting hammered by the plunge in global energy prices. State revenues are running dry and the cost of living is soaring for Russians as the currency drops.
Faced with the prospect of the economy languishing in recession in an election year, the government sought Wednesday to manage expectations.
U.S. Treasury to track some real estate deals
The Treasury Department will begin tracking sales of high-end real estate in two of the country’s most expensive markets – Miami and Manhattan – to try to crack down on money laundering.
The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Wednesday that it will temporarily require certain title companies to identify individuals behind companies that buy properties exceeding $3 million in these two markets with all-cash transactions.
The government said it’s concerned that some of these real estate deals are made by corrupt foreign government officials or international criminals who use expensive real estate to launder dirty money.
Fed says economy grew in 9 districts
The Federal Reserve says the economy expanded across most of the United States in December and early January.
The Fed says in its latest snapshot of the economy that most of its 12 regional bank reported steady growth. Only the New York and Kansas City Fed banks reported that economic activity was “essentially flat.”
Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, was “slight to moderate” in most districts.
CSX sees challenges for railroads in 2016
OMAHA, Neb.- CSX Corp. expects to deliver lower profits in 2016 as weak demand for coal and crude oil persists and the strong U.S. dollar continues to limit exports.
The railroad’s forecast for lower freight volume suggests the overall U.S. economy may be slowing after several years of steady growth.
“We’re calling it almost a freight recession,” Chairman and CEO Michael Ward said Wednesday. “We really think there are some challenges on the industrial side of the economy.”