Shopping Centers Today -> May 2004
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KMART
Kmart posted net income of $276 million during its fourth quarter,
the first in which the company has not lost money since filing for
bankruptcy in January 2002.
COSTCO
Costco is opening a 148,000-square-foot store at Urban Retail Properties’
1.2 million-square-foot Randhurst Shopping Center, Mt. Prospect,
Ill., outside Chicago, this fall. Costco currently has 318 discount
warehouses.
STARBUCKS
Starbucks has launched the first Hear Music Coffeehouse, in Santa
Monica, Calif., where customers can listen to music as well as create
and buy CDs. The company plans to add the service to 10 existing
Starbucks units in Seattle this spring.
SEARS, ROEBUCK
Sears, Roebuck and Co. has opened its second Sears Grand stand-alone
unit, in The Mills Corp.’s Gurnee (Ill.) Mills, outside Chicago.
The first one opened last year in West Jordan, Utah, a Salt Lake
City suburb. Sears Grands are more than 200,000 square feet and
carry groceries and general merchandise.
TJX COS.
TJX plans to roll out a total of 76 Marshalls and T.J. Maxx units
this year. It had 1,418 stores at press time.
COLDWATER CREEK
In a substantial expansion, Coldwater Creek intends to roll
out 45 new stores this year. The chain currently operates 66
units. |
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MOTHERS WORK
Maternity apparel retailer Mothers Work, owner of the Mimi Maternity
and Motherhood Maternity chains, opened its first Maternity Mall
superstore. The unit, in Danbury (Conn.) Square, combines items
from the company’s other chains. Mothers Work plans to open
three more Maternity Malls by the end of the year.
JOS. A. BANK CLOTHIERS
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers plans to open as many as 75 stores this year,
which would bring its total to nearly 300.
BASS PRO SHOPS
A Bass Pro Shop will anchor the 500,000-square-foot Branson
(Mo.) Landing, an Urban Retail Properties retail-entertainment
project that at press time was set for a March opening. The
chain currently operates about 20 stores at press time. |
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WALGREEN CO.
Walgreen Co. plans to open 450 new drugstores this year. That represents
a net increase of 365 when closures are taken into account. The
company currently operates 4,336 units in 44 states and Puerto Rico.
LOWE’S
Lowe’s will open 140 stores this year, bringing its total to
about 1,100 units across the country.
THE HOME DEPOT
The Home Depot will open 175 stores this year, for a total of nearly
1,900 units. The home supplies retailer also launched an online
gift registry.
RALPHS
Ralphs is closing 15 of its Southern California supermarkets. The
company says the closures are not related to the 20-week-long grocery
workers’ strike that ended in March. Ralphs operates more than
460 units on the West Coast.
EB GAMES
EB Games is opening its first Washington, D.C., unit, in Hechinger
Mall, owned by JBG Rosenfeld Retail, Bethesda, Md. The company operates
more than 1,500 units in 10 countries.
BLOCKBUSTER
Viacom says it has scrapped plans to sell off its majority stake
in Blockbuster, because it could not find a buyer. Instead, the
media company wants to offer shareholders the chance to swap Viacom
stock for shares of Blockbuster.
THE BOMBAY CO.
The Bombay Co. plans to increase the number of its stores this year
from 465 to just over 500. The expansion includes 15 new Bombay
Kids stores, bringing that chain’s total to 50. The company
is also moving its stores out of malls and into open-air centers.
FAMILY DOLLAR
Family Dollar is opening up to 565 units this year, bringing its
total to nearly 6,000 stores across the country.
WILLIAMS-SONOMA
Williams-Sonoma plans to open 27 namesake stores and 13 Pottery
Barn units this year. The chain had 237 Williams-Sonomas and 174
Pottery Barns at press time.
GAMESTOP
Video game and software retailer GameStop plans to open up to 330
stores this year, 30 more than last year. GameStop has more than
1,500 units in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Ireland. Barnes &
Noble owns 65 percent of the company.
IKEA
Ikea received government approval to open its third store in the
San Francisco Bay area, in Dublin, Calif. The company says it could
open the unit by the fall of 2006. It currently operates 190 stores
in 31 countries, including 18 U.S. units.
OLD NAVY
Gap chain Old Navy, which operates 840 stores in the United
States and Canada, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. |
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CHEESECAKE FACTORY, CRATE & BARREL
The first Cheesecake Factory and Crate & Barrel to enter Wisconsin
are going into General Growth Properties’ Mayfair mall in Wauwatosa.
The developer gave no opening dates for the stores.
CIRCLE K
Realty Income, based in Escondido, Calif., bought 112 Circle K convenience
stores in nine Southern states from Canadian-based Alimentation
Couche-Tard for $100.5 million.
CIRCUIT CITY
Circuit City is selling its credit card operation to Bank One Corp.
for about $355 million. The companies expect to close the deal sometime
this quarter.
TIFFANY
Tiffany is opening a 5,400-square-foot unit in the famous Country
Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., in the fall. The jeweler has more
than 100 stores worldwide.
NEIMAN MARCUS
Neiman Marcus will unveil a 25,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus Last
Call clearance store in The Shops at Las Americas outlet center,
San Ysidro, Calif., on the Mexican border, in the spring of 2005.
The retailer operates 35 department stores and 14 Last Calls across
the country.
LOUIS VUITTON
In conjunction with its 150th anniversary, Louis Vuitton opened
its largest store ever, in New York City. The four-level, 1,200-square-foot
store stands in one of the world’s loftiest retail locations:
Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Louis Vuitton operates 318 stores
in 51 countries, including 85 units in the United States.
VILEBREQUIN
Vilebrequin, an upscale men’s swimwear retailer, is set to
open on Rodeo Drive, in Beverly Hills, Calif., this month.
APPLE
Apple Computer opened its first San Francisco store, one of five
flagship units worldwide. The Macintiosh copmuter maker now has
76 stores in the United States and one in Japan.
KOHL’S
Kohl’s added the Laura Ashley Lifestyles line of bath towels,
sheets and other textiles to all its 542 stores. |
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FILENE’S
May Department Stores is expanding the Filene’s unit in Emerald
Square, a Simon Property Group mall in North Attleboro, Mass., between
Boston and Providence, R.I. The store will expand into a former
Lord & Taylor site and add more home furnishings and men’s
clothing. May expects to complete the expansion next spring.
SAKS
Saks is converting two of its Parisian department stores in the
Orlando, Fla., area into McRae’s units. The stores, in Seminole
Town Center and West Oaks Mall, will be closed in September and
reopened under the new names in October. Saks currently has 28 McRae’s
stores throughout the South.
SMITH’S MARKETPLACE
Kroger is converting its five Utah Fred Meyer grocery and general
merchandise stores into Smith’s Marketplace stores in June.
The company closed two Utah Fred Meyer units, in Granger and Ogden.
In 2000 Kroger changed 17 Arizona Fred Meyer stores into Fry’s
Marketplace stores. There are 126 Smith’s stores in Western
states.
BLIMPIE INTERNATIONAL
Blimpie International, the parent company of the Blimpie sandwich
chain, made a deal with Wal-Mart to open Blimpie Xpress units in
Wal-Mart stores. Blimpie hopes to open 100 such units this year.
HAAGEN-DAZS
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings bought the 236 Haagen-Dazs
ice-cream franchises in the United States from General Mills for
an undisclosed amount.
HECHT’S
A Hecht’s department store is replacing a Lord & Taylor
in The Rouse Co.’s White Marsh Mall, in Baltimore. Hecht’s
expects to begin work on the Hecht’s unit in August and to
open by the spring of 2005. There are 80 stores in The May Department
Stores Hecht’s/Strawbridge’s division, all on the East
Coast.
CARVEL
Carvel opened 53 ice-cream stores last year and has signed franchise
agreements to open 160 more, in new markets that include Michigan,
Nevada, Ohio and Puerto Rico. The company currently has 460 units
across the country.
SPARTAN STORES
Spartan Stores says it plans to switch the names of its Ashcraft’s
Markets, Great Day Food Centers and Prevo’s Family Markets
to either Family Fare Supermarkets or Glen’s Markets. The company,
which operates 330 grocery stores in Michigan, says those two chains
have better name recognition.
GARDEN RIDGE
Garden Ridge, a home decor chain with 40 stores in the Midwest and
Southeast, closed four units. The company is in Chapter 11 and has
secured $70 million in debtor-in-possession financing.
VESTA HOME
Vesta Home plans to open its first U.S. retail store, a 7,800-square-foot
unit, this month on the ground floor of The Hartford, a 215,000-square-foot
office building in Arlington, Va. San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Vesta
has two units in Puerto Rico under the name Atmosphere Home. Retail
services firm Madison Retail Group represented Vesta Home in the
deal.
BRIC’S
Bric’s, an Italian leather goods retailer, will open its first
U.S. unit, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, by early this fall.
Local firm PBS Realty Advisors represented the retailer. Bric’s
has 11 stores throughout Europe and Asia.
CONSOLIDATED THEATRES
Consolidated Theatres is opening a 57,380-square-foot, 16-screen
megaplex in Wilmington, N.C., this fall. The theater is going into
Mayfaire Town Center, a mixed-use project under development by Brody
Zimmer.
COST PLUS
Cost Plus plans to open 33 new stores this year; it opened 29 in
2003. At press time the chain was operating 204 units in 26 states.
PIGGLY WIGGLY
Piggly Wiggly plans to roll out a program in four of its stores
that will allow customers to pay for purchases using Pay By Touch.
The technology scans a person’s finger, accessing their payment
information, avoiding the need for cash, checks or credit cards.
The grocer, which operates 116 stores in Georgia and South Carolina,
will add the program to the pilot stores by July and more units
later this year.
KRISPY KREME
Krispy Kreme opened its first Hawaiian store, in Kahului, on the
island of Maui. The company now has more than 350 stores in 42 states.
FUZZIWIG’S CANDY FACTORY
Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory acquired nine company-owned and 26
franchised Sweets From Heaven stores, bringing its total to 63 units
across the country.
RAG SHOPS
Rag Shops, a crafts retailer with 69 stores on the East Coast, is
looking for a buyer or merger partner. The Hawthorne, N.J.-based
company hired investment banking firm SunTrust Robinson Humphrey
to review a “sale, merger or other corporate transactions,
in an effort to maximize shareholder value,” according to a
news release.
FRANKLIN MINT
Collectibles chain Franklin Mint has closed its 30 stores as well
as its museum in the company’s Franklin Center, Pa., headquarters.
The company is continuing to sell items through its catalog.
THE SHOPS AT TANFORAN
Barnes & Noble, Charlotte Russe and Victoria’s Secret are
among the 59 new retailers that have signed leases at The Shops
at Tanforan, a super-regional center being redeveloped by Wattson
Breevast. The Shops at Tanforan, in San Bruno, Calif., about 11
miles south of San Francisco, is scheduled for a fall 2005 reopening.
WIRELESS TOYZ
Wireless Toyz, a chain that sells cell phones and similar products,
plans to open 16 new stores by July. It currently has more than
30 units, mostly in the Midwest.
DSW
Shoe retailer DSW will open its first Nebraska store, in Village
Pointe, a lifestyle center in Omaha that RED Development plans to
open by the end of the month. DSW currently operates 145 units.
GIANT EAGLE
Giant Eagle, which operates 222 supermarkets in five states, opened
eight units in former Big Bear stores in central and southern Ohio.
SOUTH COAST PLAZA
Seven new retailers opened during the first quarter at South Coast
Plaza, in Costa Mesa, Calif., near Los Angeles. They include Brooks
Brothers, Restoration Hardware and Zara.
RIMROCK MALL
Chico’s, Coldwater Creek and Talbots made their Montana debut
earlier this year with openings on a freestanding pad on the site
of The Macerich Co.’s Rimrock Mall, in Billings.
WHOLE FOODS
Whole Foods is opening its first Oakland, Calif., store, in
the city’s Adams Point neighborhood. The retailer, which
operates 156 stores in North America and the United Kingdom,
plans to open the Oakland store by the fall of 2005. |
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COMMERCE BANK
Commerce Bank, which currently operates more than 275 units in the
Northeast, plans to open about 50 more this year and says it hopes
to operate upwards of 700 by 2009.
REGAL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Regal Entertainment Group is opening a 75,000-square-foot, 16-screen
megaplex in Simon Property Group’s University Mall in Pensacola,
Fla. Regal operates 550 theaters in 39 states. No timetable has
been established for the opening of the University Mall unit.
ORVIS
Outdoors clothier Orvis is opening its first North Carolina store
this fall, in Triangle Town Center, a super-regional mall in Raleigh.
The chain currently has 40 units in the United States and the United Kingdom.
FARMER’S BEST MARKET
Farmer’s Best Market, an international specialty food store,
will open its third Chicago-area unit, in Matanky Realty Group’s
Bishop Plaza, a community center scheduled to open in the city’s
southeast section next year.
