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L.L. BEAN EYES EDDIE BAUER

Outdoor clothing company L.L. Bean is looking at buying The Spiegel Group’s Eddie Bauer chain. Spiegel, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 17, also announced that it will close 60 underperforming Eddie Bauer stores. The purchase of competitor Eddie Bauer would dramatically increase the number of brick-and-mortar stores owned by Freeport, Maine-based L.L. Bean, which sells apparel mainly through its catalog and Web site. L.L. Bean has only five traditional retail stores and 15 factory outlet units, compared with Eddie Bauer’s 529 stores. Spiegel, which is based in Downer’s Grove, Ill., said at press time that it had not talked to L.L. Bean about a sale.

WEINGARTEN OUTLINES GROWTH PLAN

Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors says it will spend between $200 million and $300 million on acquisitions and between $65 million and $85 million on new development this year. The company has 246 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 58 industrial properties in 18 states across the Southern United States. Ninety percent of its revenue comes from retail properties, said a company spokeswoman. Development is likely to take place in Dallas, Las Vegas and Phoenix, as well as Florida, the company said. In December Weingarten formed a joint venture partnership with Boston-based AEW Capital Management, which invests in real estate for pension funds, giving Weingarten a $238 million acquisition pipeline.

FOREST CITY BROUGHT IN ON $300 MILLION PROJECT

Forest City Enterprises has joined Corti Gilchrist Partnership and Finley Group, both of San Diego, to build a $300 million mixed-use center in Simi Valley, Calif., about 45 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The project, called Simi Valley Town Center, is scheduled to open in 2005. The retail alone will cover 1.5 million square feet. The developers have signed up Macy’s and Robinsons-May as anchors and are seeking another. Tenants will include a home improvement store and 120 specialty stores and restaurants, Forest City says. The development also calls for 500 apartment units.

POST-CHAPTER 11, KMART BATTLES ON …

Kmart emerged from bankruptcy in May, and its same-store sales grew in April, the first time sales have increased since August 2001. But the retailer’s struggles are not over, analysts say, because it still has to compete with Target, Wal-Mart and other discounters. But it is helpful that Kmart’s 1,500 remaining stores are in urban areas, where those competitors don’t have as strong a foothold, said Ulysses Yannas, a Buckman, Buckman & Reid retail analyst, in an interview with SCT. (Kmart closed about 600 stores during Chapter 11.) The company is now more likely to find itself competing with such names as Bed Bath & Beyond, Children’s Place and Old Navy, which have a presence in its markets, he says.

… AND SO DOES FAO

FAO Inc. pulled out of Chapter 11 in April, three months after filing. But to stay out of trouble, analysts say, it must differentiate itself from other toy retailers with upscale positioning. FAO, which owns toy chains FAO Schwarz, The Right Start and Zany Brainy, filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 13, smarting from the competition posed by such discount chains as Wal-Mart. The company’s reorganization plan includes closing 113 stores — 10 FAO Schwarz units, 23 Right Starts and 80 Zany Brainys. This leaves it with 15 FAO Schwarz, 89 Right Start and 142 Zany Brainy stores.