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Shopping Centers Today -> June 2004
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IN BRIEF
Regal Entertainment Group
Regal Entertainment Group, the largest U.S. cinema owner, is buying 37 theaters, comprising a total of 384 screens, for $226 million. It currently owns 545 theaters across the country, containing a total of 6,020 screens. Regal is buying 30 of the cinemas, two of which are under construction, from Signature Theatres. That will give the company its first theaters in Hawaii. Regal is also buying five East Coast theaters from Northeast Cinemas and two New England units from an independent operator it did not name.Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie says it will close 156 supermarkets over the next year in an attempt to stem losses and turn itself around. Declining sales plague the grocery chain, which operated 1,078 units at press time, mainly in the Southeast. The company will close 111 stores in what it calls its noncore markets: the Midwest, Virginia and parts of North and South Carolina. It is also closing 45 stores in its core markets of Alabama, Florida and Georgia.Rent-A-Center
Rent-A-Center, already the largest rent-to-own company in the United States, is buying a smaller competitor, in a deal that was set to close last month (after press time). The Plano, Texas-based chain said it would pay $58.4 million for the privately held Rent Rite, which has 90 stores in 11 East Coast states. Rent-A-Center currently runs 2,673 units nationwide and in Canada and Puerto Rico, most of them in strip centers.Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market says it will open as many as 14 stores by year-end. The company has opened four so far this year. Whole Foods operates 156 units in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.HMV
British music retailer HMV will close its three U.S. stores by the end of the year. The company has 550 units worldwide.Big 5 Sporting Goods
Big 5 Sporting Goods plans to open as many as 20 stores this year. It currently operates 294 units.FedEx
FedEx is changing the name of the 1,200-unit Kinko’s, which it bought in February for $2.4 billion, to FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Centers.Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart hit the top of yet another retail category. The discounter surpassed Blockbuster as the No. 1 video retailer in the country, reported Video Store Magazine.Kmart
Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia extended their contract to sell Martha Stewart Everyday-brand products in the discounter’s stores until 2009.Lowe’s
Lowe’s opened its first store in Brooklyn, N.Y. (its second in New York City). The home improvement retailer has 975 units in 45 states.Jo-Ann
Crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores opened its first superstore in the Denver market, in Westminster, Colo. The company operates 94 superstores.Gymboree
Children’s retailer Gymboree opened two Gymboree Play & Music centers in New York City. There are about 530 of the centers, which offer children interactive games and educational programs, in 24 countries. The company also operates more than 575 retail stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Gymboree also recently launched its own Visa Platinum Card.Shopping Centers Today
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