Finance & Capital Management

The Iowa-based Von Maur department store chain will be installing a 90,000-sq.-ft. location at PREIT’s Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a space to be vacated by Sears. A 2019 opening is planned.   A 145-year-old, family-owned chain of 31 stores in 14 states, Von Maur’s offerings aspired to the high end with brands like Eileen Fisher, Coach, and Tommy Bahama.  

The National Retail Federation’s economic forecast for 2017 is a mostly positive one.   The association is projecting that retail industry sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, will grow between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2016, roughly in line with last year’s 3.8% increase.     Online and other non-store/online sales, which are included in the overall number, are expected to increase between 8% and 12%.  

Whole Foods Market on Wednesday reported a disappointing first quarter and also lowered full-year sales and earnings guidance.    Net income was $95 million for the quarter ended Jan. 15. The company earned an adjusted 39 cents a share during the quarter, in line with estimates.   Total sales in the quarter increased 1.9% to $4.9 billion, less than the Street expected.    

A retail pioneer in all-natural beauty products, ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility is facing an uncertain future.   L’Oreal is exploring a sale of The Body Shop for $1.1 billion, the Financial Times reported. The cosmetics giant bought the company, which operates some 3,000 stores across the globe, in 2006.   The Body Shop was founded in Brighton, England, in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick. The brand has struggled recently amid increased competition from an array of brands. 

Dollar General isn’t boasting when it calls itself one of America’s fastest-growing retailers.    The extreme-value discounter will open 1,000 stores and two distribution centers in 2017, resulting    In the creation of approximately 10,000 new jobs. The announcement comes as Dollar General is testing a new, smaller-store format under a new banner.   

Discount grocer Aldi is not about to let any new competitors — home-grown or fellow German imports — get the best of it.    The retailer has announced an aggressive $1.6 billion investment in its stores, with plans to remodel and expand more than 1,300 of its locations by 2020. The announcement comes as competition heats up in the value grocery segment, which is bracing itself for the entry of Germany’s Lidl. At the same, Whole Foods Market continues to expand its new, less pricey format, 365 by Whole Foods.

"It makes me feel really, really sad. I hate to even go up that way. Sometimes I go up that way because I go to the movie theater and I got to ride by it, and it's just heartbreaking, and to see the mall gone,” Owings Mills, Maryland resident Glenn Watlingon told WMAR-TV about the demolition of the Owings Mills Mall.   

Warby Parker is making a big commitment to brick-and-mortar.    The hip eyewear retailer plans to open at least 25 stores this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.   The new locations, planned for Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities, are expected to bring Warby Parker’s total store count to about 70 by year end.    The stores will range in size and include freestanding as well as mall locations, the report said.