Strategy

A record 36,000 retail real estate professionals are gathering in Las Vegas this week for the annual RECon conference where for an intense few days they will exchange ideas -- doing deals and showcase hot projects against the backdrop of a challenging retail sales environment and heightened omnichannel activity.  

Fabulous Freddy’s, an eight-unit retail chain headquartered in Las Vegas, provides customers with a little bit of everything.   “We’re a full-service car wash, express lube operation, gas station and convenience store,” said Jeff Warwick, VP and CFO of Fabulous Freddy’s, during an interview with Chain Store Age. “We’re always exploring opportunities to lease store space to franchises or operate in-store franchises ourselves.”  

When the 300,000-sq.-ft. Shoppes at Mid Rivers opens in late 2017 the project will be the largest retail development the St. Louis area has seen in nearly a decade.   GBT Realty Corporation, a national commercial development company headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, said the $54 million project located in St. Peters, Missouri, will have three anchor tenants, five to seven junior anchors, small shop space and four, approximately one-acre outparcels.  

Hibbett Sports beat the Street on profit in the first quarter, but missed on sales.   The retailer on Friday reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $27.9 million, compared with $27.4 million in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter ended April 30 totaled $282.1 million, up from $269.8 million last year.   Comparable store sales increased 1.1%.  

Foot Locker Inc. saw net income reaching unprecedented levels during the first quarter of fiscal 2016, although sales growth missed Wall Street expectations.   Net income rose 4% to $191 million, from $184 million. Higher pretax income offset a slight increase in income tax expense, resulting in the profit boost. Sales also climbed 4% to $1.99 billion, from $1.92 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.9%.  

In Orlando, Florida, one of America’s fastest-growing communities is getting ready to take the next step. Lake Nona – an 8,000-acre, 11-square-mile master-planned community that has already completed more than $3 billion in construction encompassing 7.1 million sq. ft. of world-class residential and commercial facilities over the last 8 years – is moving forward with the next phase of what will ultimately be a 3.8 million-sq.-ft. central commercial district: Lake Nona Town Center.  

Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Realty Investors’ $650 million Grandview Yard development has consistently been in the news over the past several years, as prominent components of the mixed-use project continue to fall into place and new buildings come online.  

American Eagle Outfitters announced that Kyle Andrew has been appointed executive VP, chief marketing officer, effective June 6.   Andrew served as senior VP, brand director for Kate Spade Saturday from 2013 through 2015. She joined the company in 2008 as head of global brand marketing and played an integral role in the re-positioning of the Kate Spade brand from a $100 million handbag company to a billion dollar global lifestyle brand.  

New-build shopping center construction was plodding last year — discounting the outlet category, which continues to grow at record speed. And, yet, sometimes one has to look at the quality of what is coming out of the ground — or expanding — and not just the quantity.

Moving forward with its promise to streamline its business model, Gap Inc. said it plans to close its fleet of 53 Old Navy stores in Japan and also shutter some Banana Republic stores, primarily outside of North America.

The retailer announced the moves on Thursday in its first quarter results, which marked the chain's fifth straight quarter of lower revenue and profit. The company also said it would not reaffirm its earnings guidance for the fiscal year.