Strategy

Starbucks Coffee Company will open for business in Italy for the first time in late 2018.   The coffee giant plans to open a 25,500-sq.-ft. Reserve Roastery outpost in late 2018 in Milan, in the historic, turn-of-the-century post office building in the city’s center. The Milan Reserve Roastery will be the first Starbucks Roastery to open in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and the fifth, globally. It is the first of additional Starbucks stores the company plans to open in Italy.   

Petco continues to expand its store portfolio.   The retailer, which operates more than 1,500 Petco and Unleashed by Petco locations across the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico, will open 12 new stores during the month of March. It will also relocate one store in Ohio.   The new stores include locations in Virginia, Arizona, New York, Florida, Connecticut, Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee, and Missouri.   

CSA’s annual award program honors five growing brands

Innovation in retail means breaking down barriers, navigating a fiercely competitive marketplace and making connections with increasingly demanding customers. In this section, Chain Store Age profiles five retailers that are succeeding in both. They are the winners of CSA’s Breakout Retailers Awards.

Changes in the retail landscape call for changes in lease agreements, as well

With long-time anchors leaving malls, urgent care clinics moving into neighborhood centers, and online sellers applying pressure from all sides, retailers should take a new approach in structuring their lease agreements with property owners, say experts from both sides of the negotiations table.

Three different centers, three different owner/managers, three different recipes for shaping open-air centers to local tastes

Chris Ressa does not put a lot of stock in the word “experiential.” Though it’s become a companion to the word “retail” in the real estate industry, DLC Management Corp.’s senior VP of leasing finds it not up to the task of describing what’s too often missing at shopping venues.

Turning historic spaces into contemporary stores

Omnichannel environment places evolving demands, challenges on C-suite executives

The transformation of retail from brick and mortar into a digital omnichannel environment has caused an evolution in certain key roles in the C-suite.

Antony Karabus, CEO of HRC Retail Advisory, spoke with Chain Store Age about how the key role of the chief operating officer is evolving to enhance the transformation of retail companies in today’s more complex environment.

What is the typical scope of responsibilities of a retail COO?

Two big retail names, Dollar General and Abercrombie & Fitch, recently unveiled new store formats that differ dramatically from their traditional concepts. Here’s a look at their new initiatives:

Dollar General

One of the nation’s fastest-growing retailers is putting the focus on convenience, targeting a new demographic with a smaller-store concept called DGX.

Dollar General debuted the new format, which has 3,400 sq. ft. of selling space, in Nashville, Tenn. A second location is set to open in Raleigh, N.C.

Retail signs have undergone a major evolution in recent years fueled by the adoption of digital technologies. Marilyn Brennan, business development manager at Egan Sign, spoke with Chain Store Age about the status of sign management in retail.

What trends are you seeing with regard to retail sign programs?