Strategy

Ikea has broken ground for its second store in Ohio.

The new Ikea will open in summer 2017. The 355,000-sq.-ft. store is being built on 33 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate-71 and Gemini Place in the Polaris Centers of Commerce development, approximately 15 miles north of downtown Columbus.

The retailer has contracted with Pepper Construction to build the project. The chain also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.
 

A popular goose from up north is about to nest in two high-profile locations.  

Canada Goose, best known for its signature — and pricey — goose-down jacket with Arctic Circle logo and fur-trimmed hood, will open its first two freestanding stores this fall. The flagship locations are set to open at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, and in downtown Manhattan, in SoHo.

As Sears Holdings Corp. continues to struggle to turn its business around, the chain announced it is exploring ways to expand distribution of its key brands outside its own stores. The troubled retailer also announced its CFO is leaving.

Sears lost $471 million in its first quarter, ended April 30, compared with $303 million in the year-ago period. Loss per share came to $4.41, or $1.86 adjusted for certain items. Analysts estimated a loss of $3.20 per share.

Empire Outlets is New York City’s first and only outlet center so it was only fitting that a contract related to the major project was consummated at the retail real estate industry’s biggest show.
 

Guess Inc. swung from profit to net loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, missing analyst estimates for both net earnings and revenues.

The apparel retailer reported a net loss of $25.2 million, compared to net earnings of $3.3 million the same quarter a year earlier. Restructuring charges, a negative tax impact, and currency fluctuations helped push the retailer into the red.

J.Crew Group Inc. managed to narrow its loss in the first quarter even as it continued to struggle with sluggish sales.

The retailer’s net loss for the quarter totaled $8.4 million, significantly less than the net loss of $462.41 million from the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Reductions in cost of goods sold, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and impairment losses helped trim net loss.

Total revenues fell to $567.5 million from $581.8 million. Same-store sales dropped 7%.

Forget South Beach. Brickell City Centre is shaping up as the place to be and be seen in the Miami area with 11 more retail tenants added ahead of a planned November opening.
 
Eleven new tenants have joined the 500,000-sq.-ft. Brickell City Centre retail development scheduled to open this November in an area of Miami developers of the project describe as underserved.
 

Specialty apparel retailer Express Inc. did not reach Wall Street expectations with declining profit and flat sales in a generally sluggish first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
Net income slipped 1% to $12.9 million from $13.1 million in the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Outlet- and IT-related expense growth helped drive down profit.

Net sales stayed essentially flat at $502.9 million, compared to $502.4 million a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 3%, including a 1% dip in e-commerce sales.
 

Chico's FAS Inc. has appointed Susan Lanigan as executive VP and general counsel.
 
Lanigan has 25 years of professional experience and more than 15 years of business experience in the retail industry, including serving as executive VP, general counsel of Dollar General Corp.
 

The 27th annual Chain Store Age survey of Fastest-Growing Acquirers features some familiar names, but a diversity of philosophies and experiences when it comes to driving long-term growth.