Marketing

Dick’s Sporting Goods opened its Field & Stream prototype store last summer and next month the first of eight stores planned for 2014 arrives on the shores of Lake Erie.

The northwestern Pennsylvania community will be home to Dick’s third Field & Stream store with an opening set for June 13. Dick’s began experimenting with the potential new growth format last August when it opened its first location near its home town of Pittsburgh in the suburb of Cranberry Township. A second location opened later in 2013 in Crescent Springs, Ky.

Mixed-use project Celebration Pointe is set to move forward

For Gainesville, Fla.-area residents, these are exciting times. Celebration Pointe, one of the more distinctive mixed-use projects in the state of Florida, is about to hit a significant milestone: The initial phase of the ambitious, $170 million development broke ground in April with site preparation and significant public infrastructure upgrades.

Landlords and tenants have a new way to connect

Networking isn’t new, but in this day and age of emails and texts, the idea of face-to-face business-building has taken on new importance.

New York -- J. Crew Group Inc. is developing a new store format in the budget fashion sector. The company has created a brand called “J. Crew Mercantile,” and filed an application to trademark the phrase for selling clothing and accessories, both online and in stores, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The trademark application is still pending, the report said. The new brand would sell merchandise and prices that are similar to its J. Crew Factory outlet concept.

Littleton, Mass. - Dover Saddlery Retail Inc. plans to open the first Dover Saddlery tack store in Ohio in summer 2014. The store will be located in Cincinnati and offer in-store services including a saddle demo program and custom boot measuring.

Fast-growing flooring retailer The Tile Shop is leveraging social media with a clever contest idea to expose its expanding brand to more customers.

The operator of 92 specialty flooring stores is giving social media users until May 22 to enter its, “Ugliest Kitchen & Bath Contest,” for a change to win $1,000 in free tile and a design consultation. All photo submissions will be eligible for weekly $100 gift card drawings. Homeowners can enter photos of their ugly kitchens and bathrooms to Facebook or Instagram using #thetileshop for a chance to win.

Minneapolis - The Tile Shop will expand its presence by 20 stores to 108 locations by the end of 2014, and also remodel 15 to 20 locations.

“Through our store layout and sales associates, who offer project planning, design counsel, tile recommendations and installation guidance, we are able to meaningfully connect with our customers and meet their individual project needs with affordable tile and natural stone products, building a foundation for an ongoing relationship,” said Carl Randazzo, senior VP of retail for The Tile Shop.

Sales from new stores as well as a nearly 7% same-store sales increase bolstered Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage’s second quarter ended March 31.

Net sales increased 22.4% to $130.3 million over the same period in fiscal year 2013 due to a $16.6 million increase in sales from new stores and a 6.9%, increase in comparable store sales.