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Tag: retail

Newsmakers: Saxton & Stump, PSECU and more

Michael Miller, Cris Boushell, Heather Havighurst, Emily Marzock, Ahmad Zaafar, Granby Mike. PHOTO PROVIDED

Accounting

Manheim Township-based Trout CPA named Robert Pozesky director of advisory services. He will assist clients with business strategy, identify and solve operational challenges, improve performance and develop sustainable growth. He has more than 30 years of business consulting experience.

Architecture and engineering

Manheim Township-based RLPS Architects named James A. Mehaffey partner. Most recently, he was a senior project manager.

 

 

 

Manchester Township-based Manufacturers’ Association named Mike Granby president of its board. He is president of Granby Consulting. Jonathan Crothers was named vice president. He is continuous improvement coordinator with Stoner Inc., responsible for efficiency improvement. Brett Butler and Sam Miller were named board members. Miller will also serve on the finance committee. Butler is general manager of Precision Custom Components, and Miller is president of Wolfgang Confectioners.

Camp Hill-based Pennsylvania Farm Bureau named Todd Bailey chief administrative officer. He will lead day-to-day operations of the bureau, its Members’ Service Corporation and the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation. He was membership relations manager.

Banking and finance

Susquehanna Township-based PSECU elected Shawn W. Weis chair of its board. Matthew B. Wagoner was elected vice chair, Timothy D. Grunstra treasurer and Leanna L. Meiser secretary and assistant treasurer. Weis is assistant counsel with the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority. Wagoner is a teacher with West Shore School District’s Red Land High School. Grunstra is a certified public accountant and principal with Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz. Meiser is director of enterprise learning & organizational change management with The Hershey Company.

York Township-based Codorus Valley Bancorp Inc. named John E. Kiernan a board member. He will serve on the audit, compensation, and corporate governance and nominating committees. He is president and CEO of Alico Inc.

 

 

 

Silver Spring Township-based InTandem Financial named Chris Boushell a partner and wealth management adviser in the West Chester office. He will expand the firm in Chester County and the Philadelphia Metro area. Evan Pennypacker and Heather Havighurst will also be employed in that office.

Counsel Trust Co., which has offices in York, Lancaster and Hanover, named Michael L. Mixell a board member. He is a partner with Lancaster-based Barley Snyder and a member of the business, trusts and estates, and finance and creditors’ rights practice groups.

Construction

Silver Spring Township-based Mowery named Zaafar Ahmad architectural designer. He was architectural designer and drafter and building information modeling drafter for construction and manufacturing firms. He has a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University.

Economic development

Downtown Carlisle named Stacey Gould its Main Street manager. She will create and manage programs to promote civic, economic, commercial and cultural development of Carlisle’s downtown business district. She was the Main Street manager of Downtown Bedford Inc.

Government

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which includes Lancaster County, named Kiandra D. Steffy to a merit selection panel to help fill a federal magistrate judge vacancy. The panel will review applications, interview potential candidates and recommend those it considers best qualified. She is an attorney with Manheim Township, Lancaster County-based Saxton & Stump in the labor and employment, Title IX, commercial litigation and internal investigations groups.

Lower Allen Township Commissioners named Jennifer (Sultzaberger) Caron a board member. She is a member attorney in the Harrisburg office of Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC and practices in public and municipal finance.

 

 

 

Hospitality

Philadelphia-based GF Hotels & Resorts named James Parker director of sales and marketing with The Yorktowne Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in York. He will oversee sales and marketing efforts, sales team performance and strategy, business development and travel industry research. He was area director of sales for Springwood Hospitality.

Insurance

East Donegal Township-based Donegal Insurance Group named Matthew Hudnall senior vice president of commercial lines. He will develop and execute strategy. He was senior vice president of commercial and personal lines underwriting at Preferred Mutual.

 

 

 

Law

Lancaster-based Barley Snyder named Emily Watkins Marzock an attorney in the trusts and estates and business practice areas. She was associate director of gift planning at Franklin & Marshall College.

Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans named attorney Michael McAuliffe Miller member-in-charge of its Harrisburg office. He practices in management-side employment and labor law.

Manheim Township-based Saxton & Stump named Keith Verner director of operations. He will oversee the finance, human resources, concierge, information technology, marketing and business development teams. He was chief operating officer at Synapse and CEO of LabLearner. He has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.

Candice Rice was named human resources consultant. She will provide hands-on personnel and HR support. She is also employed with Granite HR Consulting. She has a bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania.

Erik Scott and Gabriella Vreeland were named business development strategists. Most recently, Scott was a business development coordinator for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. He has a bachelor’s degree from Drexel University. Vreeland was employed in construction business development and marketing.

Kimberly Huber was named concierge and client services specialist. She will assist with event planning and coordination and client services.

Shelby Simione was named concierge services manager. She will oversee day-to-day concierge services department operations. She was employed with a Lancaster hotel and resort.

Charles Rapp was named information technology help desk lead. He has been employed in information technology for 22 years. He has a bachelor’s degree from Lee University.

Michael Sadowski was named senior writer on the marketing and business development team. He was employed with a Pennsylvania-based law firm, and before that was a journalist, most recently with the Central Penn Business Journal. He has a degree from Elizabethtown College.

Joel Gamon was named content marketing manager. He will lead the core marketing team. He was a content strategist. Abby (Hall) Young was named business development manager. She will lead the firm’s strategic business development and its associate attorney business development program

Manufacturing

Spring Garden Township-based RG Group named Michael J. Kays vice executive chairman. He will help implement strategic initiatives, provide board governance and ensure effective board meetings. He was a board member.

Mountville-based AHF Products named Jennifer Zimmerman chief commercial officer. She will lead sales, marketing, product management, research and development and customer service. She was general counsel.

Nonprofits

Mount Joy Township-based Lancaster County Career & Technology Foundation named Dr. Vito Camillo, Jamie Morrison, Benjamin L. Pratt and Nate Scott board members. Camillo is clinical director of corporate partnerships with Penn Medicine/Lancaster General Health Physicians. Morrison is vice president of Wohlsen Construction. Pratt is an attorney with Kegel Kelin Litts & Lord LLP. Scott is president & CEO of Cargas Systems Inc.

 

 

Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Municipal League named Katie Reibsane director of training and professional development. She will help keep members up to date on municipal government best practices. She was veterans services training and technology manager with the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Denise Gembusia was named director of marketing and member services. She will market programs, promote membership and services and be the contact for the Business Leaders Network and sponsorship programs. She was manager of Halfmoon Township in Centre County.

Staffing

Lemoyne-based Abel Personnel named Melissa Davis an information technology recruiter. She has 20 years of high-level management and recruiting experience.

Technology

Hampden Township-based Appalachia Technologies named Mike Williams president. He was director of client services and helped develop company culture and bridge service delivery and the client experience. Terri Bendl was named vice president of sales and marketing. She was director of sales and marketing.

Utilities

Columbia Water Co. named David T. Lewis president. He was vice president and a board member. He is a professional engineer. Jay H. Lutz was named vice president. He is a retired insurance broker and founder of Jay H. Lutz & Co. Inc. He was a board member and executive committee member.

West Manchester Town Center sold for $42.5M

JLL Capital Markets announced this week that it closed the sale of West Manchester Town Center, a 488,037-square-foot retail complex in York County.

A Paramount Realty Joint Venture purchased the property for $42.5 million, BizNewsPA reported. JLL represented the seller, ATR Corinth Partners.

“We at ATR Corinth are excited about the redevelopment of West Manchester Town Center into a dynamic retail center that will serve the community for decades,” Partner Tony Ruggeri said in a release. “As with any project of this size, we would like to thank the officials at West Manchester Township, the Redevelopment Authority of York County and the residents of the township and county for their support in this transformation.” Based in Lakewood, New Jersey, Paramount Realty owns and operates a portfolio of more than 15 million square feet throughout the Northeast, including other retail centers in central Pennsylvania.

On 94.1 acres, West Manchester Town Center is at 415 Town Center Drive and features such national retailers as Kohl’s, At Home, HomeGoods, Hobby Lobby and Burlington.

The release noted that the property drew more than 4.2 million customer visits over the last year, the second most visits to an open-air shopping center within a 15-mile radius.

“We have seen renewed demand for best-in-class power centers over the last 24 months, which speaks to the positive macro performance of big box retailers as we exited the pandemic,” added JLL Senior Director Chris Behr.

“With an extremely competitive bid process, West Manchester is a perfect example of this ongoing trend.”

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer.

Old Navy store opens this weekend in Gateway Hanover

Old Navy is opening a store this Saturday at York County’s Gateway Hanover Shopping Center, a spokeswoman for the apparel retailer confirmed.

Operated by Gap Inc., Old Navy opened its first store in 1994 and was “the fastest retailer to reach $1 billion in sales within four years,” according to Gap’s website. Today, there are more than 1,200 Old Navy stores.

The one at Gateway Hanover, in Penn Township, would be the second in York County; the other Old Navy is in Manchester Crossroads shopping center in Manchester Township.

A brochure from Bennett Williams Commercial described Gateway Hanover as a 528,605-square-foot, 37.08-acre “regional power shopping center” that is “strategically positioned” to benefit from the high-volume traffic of Carlisle Street.

Gateway Hanover is anchored by Target and Sam’s Club with such co-tenants as Chipotle, Five Below, Ross, Olive Garden, PetSmart and Hobby Lobby.

Lancaster County home sales drop amid limited inventory 

February home sales in Lancaster County fell 18.3% from the year before, a sign of limited inventory more than reduced demand. 

Last month was only the second time in the past two years closed sales dropped below 300, said Greg Bardell, 2022 president of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors. 

The other month that happened was in May 2020, when real estate was practically shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In addition, the 286 houses sold in February are 16.4% fewer than the 342 settlements in January. 

Across the country, existing home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – sank 7.2% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.02 million in February, the National Association of Realtors reported. 

Lancaster County pending sales have declined, too, Bardell noted, from 411 in February 2021 to 382 in February 2022. Year to date, they are down 7.3%, while closed sales are down 13.1%. 

Meanwhile, the median sold price was $265,000 last month, a 12.3% increase from the prior year and well above the five-year February average of $224,750. 

It’s not uncommon for homes on the market to receive anywhere from five to 30 offers, Bardell said. 

Average days on market in February was 18, which was 10 fewer than in February 2021 and well under the five-year February average of 43. 

And the average sold to original list price ratio last month was 103.1%, meaning many houses went under contract for above asking price. 

With such low inventory, getting an offer accepted is more like winning the lottery than winning a bidding war, Bardell said. 

“A lot of people would like to buy,” he said. “There’s just not the inventory to buy.” 

Affordability, however, may be starting to become a problem for some purchasers, Bardell said. 

Soaring home prices are one factor, he said, as well as rising interest rates and inflation. 

Montgomery County retail center sells for $161 million

A Bethesda-based real estate firm and its partner have bought a 760,000-square-foot retail center in the Greater Philadelphia region for $161.75 million, the companies announced Friday.

Finmarc Management, Inc. partnered with New York-based investment and operating firm KPR Centers on the acquisition.

Providence Town Center, which is in Collegeville, a town northwest of Philadelphia, first opened in 2009 and features 11 anchor tenants, led by a Wegmans Food Markets. The center has 70 tenants, including retail, dining, medical and more. The center is on 82 acres of land at 100 Town Center.

“The new ownership team has plans for improvements to the center to drive a higher velocity of customer traffic to the already busy Town Center,” Finmarc Principal and Co-Founder David Fink said in a news release. “This strategy and preliminary activity have already garnered interest from additional national and regional tenants looking to establish a presence at Providence Town Center.”

The shopping center is well-positioned for future success, the companies said, with the surrounding communities having a growing population of just under 125,000. Nearby residential communities have expanded by more than 42% in the past two decades, and a 700-unit apartment project is planned.

The shopping center is also adjacent to Route 422, which almost 65,000 vehicles travel daily, and Route 29, which about 20,000 vehicles travel daily.

“Providence Town Center in an institutional-quality regional shopping center and, with more than a dozen high-performing anchor tenants including Wegmans Food Markets, is among the dominant retail venues in the greater Philadelphia trade area,” Fink said. “The surrounding demographics led by an ever-growing residential population, together with the presence of major employers and employment centers, provide us with tremendous confidence about the asset’s long-term performance.”

This follows another Philadelphia-area transition by the two companies; late last year, Finmarc and KPR sold Red Lion Plaza, a shopping center at 9950 Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia for $56.45 million that had been owned by a joint venture of the two companies since 2013. The identity of the buyers was not disclosed.

The firm has also recently broken into the North Carolina market through the $58 million acquisition of a 383,000-square-foot retail center in Raleigh.

Rhode Island discount retail chain to open first Lancaster County location  

The store front of an Ocean State Job Lot location. PHOTO/PROVIDED

Rhode Island-based discount retail chain, Ocean State Job Lot, plans to open a new Lancaster County store this summer. 

The retail chain announced on Wednesday that it recently entered into a long-term lease to purchase the former Kmart at 2600 Willow Street Pike North in West Lampeter Township. 

The new store will occupy 43,272 square feet of the 87,671-square-foot space. Ocean State Job Lot intends to lease out the remaining 44,399 square feet. 

When completed this summer, the new location will be the seventh Ocean State Job Lot in Pennsylvania. 

“We are so pleased to be opening our first store in Lancaster County this year,” said Paul Cox, director of store operations for Ocean State Job Lot. “Throughout the pandemic, we have been committed to continued expansion throughout the Northeast. We plan to continue adding locations in the region, creating jobs in the community, and offering excellent value for shoppers.” 

The store plans to hire approximately 50 positions for the site, including store leadership, supervisory, full-time and part time positions.  

Goodwill Keystone Area retail store opens in Hanover 

Goodwill Keystone Area’s new Hanover store. PHOTO/PROVIDED

Goodwill Keystone Area has opened a new Hanover retail store and donation center at 450 Eisenhower Drive, the result of closing its Baltimore Street location in Hanover. 

At the former A.C. Moore site, the 16,000-square-foot Eisenhower Drive store includes clothing, footwear, outerwear, jewelry and accessories, antiques and collectibles, housewares, books, games and plenty more. Donation drop-offs can be made at the entrance. 

Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, 12-6 p.m. 

“We are excited to move into this larger stand-alone location,” Cheryl Kulp, Goodwill Keystone Area’s vice president of donated goods retail, said in a release. “Not only can shoppers find gently-used items at affordable prices, but proceeds from the sale of items at our stores support Goodwill’s mission of providing job-training programs and employment services for people with disabilities and other barriers to independence.” 

The sale of donated goods in its 40 stores in 22 central and southeast Pennsylvania counties accounts for 75 percent of the nonprofit’s revenue. 

Bollman Hat Company hires new integrator 

Heather McNicholl. PHOTO/PROVIDED

The Bollman Hat Company’s newest integrator will oversee the Adamstown-based hat company’s operations, finance, sales and marketing. 

America’s oldest hat maker announced on Tuesday that Heather McNicholl has joined the company’s leadership team as its new Integrator. 

McNicholl brings over thirty years of experience in retailing, quality assurance, merchandising, sales and marketing. She has previously held roles as general m-anager of COCOOIL, an Australian luxury skincare brand and director of merchandising and business development at QVC. 

While with QVC, McNicholl helped drive the company’s reinvention from a single-channel TV shopping company into a leading multi-channel retailer offering an immersive shopping experience to an expanding customer base, according to a press release from Bollman. 

McNicholl said she was drawn to Bollman by the employee-owned company’s strong core value for its employees to act like owners.  

“The team still manufactures some hats in the US and has continually reinvented themselves to stay relevant in an ever-changing fashion industry,” she said. “It’s an exciting time to join the company as we experience strong 2021 results and look forward to evolving the business in 2022.” 

The inclusion of McNicholl to Bollman’s leadership team is just one way that the company is well positioned for the future, said Don Rongione, president and CEO. 

“We have survived our second pandemic and are positioned with the strongest collections of brands in our industry,” said Rongione. “Bollman has a global reach with a consumer loyalty that is unmatched in headwear as well as an eCommerce capability that is second to none in our industry. Heather brings an ability and experience which will allow us to execute aggressive plans to build more loyal consumers throughout the world.” 

Versatile Credit receives patent for Snap Sign and Snap to Apply

Versatile Credit Inc., Mechanicsburg, received a patent from the U.S. patent office for the technology behind their transition-to-mobile technology, Snap Sign and Snap to Apply.

“Methods for switchable matrix barcodes for secure website access,” encompasses technology that Versatile Credit has deployed to retailers across the country to help their shoppers apply for credit from the safety and security of their own mobile device.

“With this technology, Versatile can embed dynamic, cryptographically-signed, and time-constrained QR codes, which customers can simply scan with their smartphone camera to launch on their mobile device”, said Bill Kratzer, chief innovation officer at Versatile Credit. “This helps lenders and retailers validate an applicant’s in-store presence while reducing risk of fraudulent use and malicious tampering.”

“While the technology was initially developed to address the demand for unobtrusive methods of validating the location of a customer, the pandemic began to change the way retailers and shoppers looked at the shopping experience,” said Vicki Turjan, president and chief operating officer of Versatile Credit, “Because of this renewed focus on safety, Snap Sign’s contactless, self-service nature became even more relevant in today’s retail environment.”

Versatile’s secure QR code technology, U.S. Patent Number 11,089,031, is not limited to the credit application process. It can also be leveraged for other parts of the sales, financing, and check-out process — from learning more about products to mobile check out and beyond.

“Snap Sign is an illustration of Versatile’s focus on fostering and building new, innovative solutions to help our retail and lending partners address the evolving challenges and opportunities they are facing in building seamless, omnichannel shopping and financing experiences for consumers,” Turjan said.

Snap Sign is the newest addition to Versatile Credit’s platform of in-store and online engagement points, including kiosks, tablets, e-commerce plugins and remote sales tools. Versatile’s platform seamlessly transitions applicants to secondary and tertiary providers if the application is denied, providing shoppers across the FICO spectrum with multiple opportunities to receive a financing offer. Retailers can leverage Versatile’s comprehensive dashboard and analytics tools to gain actionable insights and benchmark the performance of their financing program down to the sales associate level.