Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Canada’s largest food retailer, reported a 40-per-cent increase in first-quarter profit and said it plans to compete the initial public offering of its real estate investment trust (REIT) in early to mid-July.

The company, majority-owned by George Weston Ltd., also raised its quarterly dividend by 9 per cent to 24 cents per share. This was the second time in six months that the company raised its dividend.

Loblaw, which also sells clothing, footwear and drugs, reiterated its outlook for 2013 despite increasing competition.

U.S. discount retailer Target Corp. opened its first three Canadian stores in March and plans to have more than 100 by the end of this year.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/loblaws-7-billion-reit-offering-planned-for-july/article11649029/

Developers are increasingly using social media and online surveys to ask area residents what businesses they want in their neighbourhood, turning away from traditional market research that determines what types of stores might draw customers.

When real-estate developer Robert Fung started to look at how best to fill 8,000 square feet of retail space in New Westminster, B.C., he decided to approach it like a retailer and ask potential customers what they thought might be a good fit. He turned to Facebook, Twitter and community blogs to solicit feedback from people who live in the area.

Mr. Fung says the response to the two-week campaign was “overwhelming, immediate and highly informative,” and it led the developer to refine his target retail mix and modify the storefront configurations to dovetail with what respondents envisioned.

“I didn’t have anyone say, ‘Put a London Drugs in it or a Shoppers Drug Mart’ – not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s not the character we hope to provide,” says Mr. Fung, president of Salient Group, which is behind the Trapp + Holbrook project in downtown New Westminster.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/starting-out/heres-a-twist-developers-ask-residents-what-stores-they-want/article11165548/