Shopping Centers Today -> April 2006
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IN BRIEF

Build-A-Bear grows globally

Build-A-Bear Workshop is taking its toy formula global with an agreement to buy U.K.-based stuffed animal retailer The Bear Factory for $41.1 million. The deal comprises 28 Bear Factory stores in the U.K. and one in Ireland. In addition there are 13 Bear Factory franchises in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. “The acquisition of Bear Factory increases our opportunities to rapidly expand our brand throughout the United Kingdom,” said Maxine Clark, chairman and CEO of the St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear.

Bear Factory, which opened its first store in 2000, posted net revenue of $38.6 million last year. The Bear Factory stores in the U.K. will be converted to Workshop stores in time for the 2006 holiday season. Build-A-Bear will also acquire its franchisee in the U.K., Amsbra, which operates 11 Build-A-Bear stores there and posted revenue of $6 million last year.

RadioShack to close 700 stores

RadioShack said it will close as many as 700 stores within the next 18 months after suffering a 62 percent drop in net for the fourth quarter. Part of the company’s turnaround strategy is to “aggressively relocate stores to better real estate,” according to its earnings announcement.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer said slow holiday sales and weakness in its wireless business led to the year-on-year drop in net income to $49.5 million for the fourth quarter. For the full year, net income fell 21 percent to $265.3 million. Radioshack did not specify which stores it would close.

Supervalu sells Deals to Dollar Tree

Supervalu plans to sell its 138 stand-alone Deals stores to the Dollar Tree Stores chain for about $30.5 million in cash along with a still-undetermined amount of inventory. Supervalu acquired the Deals dollar-store chain in 2002 and used the retailer’s expertise to add dollar-store sections to its Save-A-Lot stores.

The parties say they expect to close the transaction in Supervalu’s first quarter of fiscal 2007, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions. "Over the past four years, Save-A-Lot has successfully integrated general merchandise into our Save-A-Lot grocery stores," said Bill Moran, president and CEO of Save-A-Lot in a press release. “We remain focused on further geographic expansion of the Save-A-Lot combination format." Deals currently operates in 16 states. Minneapolis-based Supervalu, which is closing a deal to buy 1,124 Albertsons stores, operates 1,532 supermarkets.

Walmex on the move

Wal-Mart de Mexico, or Walmex, says it will expand into at least 20 new cities in Mexico this year. The company currently has 785 stores there. Walmex, a unit of Wal-Mart Stores, says it will invest 11.9 billion pesos ($1.14 billion) to open 120 stores and modernize others this year. The expansion will include Baja California Sur, the only state where Wal-Mart de Mexico does not have a presence, says company chief executive Eduardo Solorzano. Specific store locations were not announced. The 2006 expansion plan will increase sales floor space by 14 percent, the company says. Walmex posted a same-store sales gain of 5.2 percent in January.

Coach opens 20 stores with Simon

Luxury retailer Coach is to open 20 new stores and expand 10 others at Simon Property Group centers over a two-year period. “It’s the largest lease deal we’ve ever signed with a particular developer,” said Coach spokeswoman Andrea Shaw Resnick. The locations will be announced later, but the first of the new stores are to open in July, Resnick says.

“Coach is a great brand, and their commitment to open or expand 30 stores in our portfolio is entirely consistent with our objective of developing and managing retail properties that matter,” says David Simon, CEO of Simon, in a press release. Some of Coach’s highest-volume stores are in Simon-operated malls and lifestyle centers throughout the U.S., says Coach CEO Lew Frankfort.

Coach plans to open a total of 25 stores and three outlets this year in the U.S. and 12 in Japan. The retailer operates 201 stores and 84 outlets in the U.S. It also has 109 stores in Japan and two in Canada. The units measure 2,500 square feet on average, and 85 percent of them are in malls.

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