Shopping Centers Today -> May 2004
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IN BRIEF
Sainsbury, Albertsons
British grocer J Sainsbury is selling its U.S. unit to Albertsons
for $2.5 billion. The company says it decided to sell its 202 Shaw’s
and Star Markets in New England to reinvest and “develop its
core U.K. retail business.” The companies expect to close the
deal sometime this quarter. Sainsbury will be left with its 500-store
U.K. grocery chain and other holdings.
Chelsea Japan
Chelsea Japan, a venture of Chelsea Property Group, has opened its
fourth outlet center in Japan and is set to break ground on a fifth
later this year. The center, the 185,000-square-foot Tosu Premium
Outlets, is located 20 miles south of Fukuoka, Japan’s fourth-largest
city. Tosu features more than 100 retailers, including Cole Haan,
Dolce & Gabbana and Levi’s.
McArthurGlen, Henderson
European outlet developer McArthurGlen and investment firm Henderson
Global Investors have formed a $488 million fund to invest in five
McArthurGlen centers in Austria, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
McArthurGlen will retain a minority stake in those centers and use
the proceeds to develop European outlets.
The Mall Fund
British community shopping center owner The Mall Fund made £400
million ($726.9 million) in acquisitions last year. Its latest purchase
was the 190,000-square-foot Marlands Shopping Centre, Southampton,
England, from Hermes Property Asset Management for £49 million.
The company owns 15 centers, valued at £1.3 billion.
Macquarie DDR
Macquarie DDR, a retail property investment partnership between
Developers Diversified Realty and Macquarie Bank that was formed
in November and owns 11 open-air centers, is now trading on the
Australian Stock Exchange.
Vastned Retail, Warburg-Henderson
Netherlands-based Vastned Retail sold El Bulevar, a 258,336-square-foot
hypermarket-anchored center in Getafe, Spain, outside Madrid, to
German real estate firm Warburg-Henderson Kapitalanlagegesellschaft
for €20.5 million ($24.4 million).
Minerva Group
Developer Minerva Group plans to break ground next year on Park
Place, a 535,000-square-foot mall in the London suburb of Croydon,
England. On the site currently is an Allders department store that
Minerva is trying to buy and says it hopes to keep as an anchor.
Tesco
British mass merchandise retailer formed a joint venture with
real estate investor Topland, through which the two will own
33 Tesco stores and two distribution centers. The venture will
give Tesco £675 million ($1.2 billion) for future growth.
At press time Tesco was also rumored to be buying a 50 percent
stake in 25 Chinese hypermarkets from Ting Hsin International
Group for $200 million. |
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Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart bought Bompreco, a 118-unit Brazilian hypermarket chain,
from Ahold for $500 million. The largest retailer in the world now
has international operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China,
Germany, Mexico, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
Carrefour
Carrefour sold its seven Chilean stores to Distribuci—n y Servicios,
a local retail group, for $123.3 million. In Latin America, the
French hypermarket operator retains stores in Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia and Mexico.
Starbucks
Starbucks plans to open 1,300 new stores around the world this year.
The chain currently has more than 7,500 units globally.
NTUC Hougang Mall
Asian Retail Mall Fund, an arm of Prudential Real Estate Investors,
bought the 156,000-square-foot NTUC Hougang Mall, in Singapore,
from NYUC Income Insurance Cooperative for S$188 million ($111.3
million), according to local media reports.
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme opened its first Mexican unit, in the Mexico City suburb
of Interlomas. The doughnut chain now has 394 stores in the United
States, Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Staples, Globus Office World
Staples is buying Globus Office World, a 59-store British office
supplies chain, from the Swiss-based Globus Group for £32.5
million ($59.1 million). The Office of Fair Trade in the United
Kingdom is reviewing the transaction. Staples has 1,600 units in
the United States, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Zara
Zara opened its first store in Morocco, in the Maarif zone commercial
district in Casablanca. The Spanish retailer now has more than 600
stores in 44 countries.
Blockbuster
Video giant Blockbuster is pulling out of Hong Kong and has decided
not to expand into mainland China. The company says it will close
all 24 of its stores in Hong Kong by the end of next year, because
of high operating costs. The company has more than 8,600 stores
worldwide.
Hat World
Hat World plans to open at least 200 stores in China and Hong Kong
within the next 10 years. The company has nearly 500 stores across
the United States.
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop opened its first two Asian units, one
in Seoul, South Korea, and the other in Tokyo. The company has
more than 150 U.S. units, four stores in Canada and one in the
United Kingdom. |
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Bernie’s Coffee & Tea
Bernie’s Coffee & Tea Co. opened its first international
franchise store, in Kuwait. The company, which operates about 100
U.S. stores, is looking for other locations around the Middle East.
Multi Development sells centers
Portugal-based Multi Development Corp. sold two mixed-use centers
under development in Germany to WestInvest for about $156.6 million.
The centers are Schlössle-Galerie, in Pforzheim, and Kamp-Promenade,
in Osnabrück. Kamp-Promenade will open in September with 150,696
square feet of shops, including Esprit, and 27,000 square feet of
offices. Schlössle, anchored by H&M and set to open next
spring, will have 188,370 square feet of retail and restaurants
and nearly 28,000 square feet of offices.
Aldo expands in Europe
Canadian shoe retailer Aldo opened its first three stores in Portugal
and plans to open more through Portuguese franchisee ZT Two. At
press time Aldo, represented by Cushman & Wakefield Healey &
Baker, also planned to open two stores in Copenhagen, Denmark. Aldo
has more than 700 stores in Europe, the Middle East, North America
and Singapore.
