Strategy

Pre-leasing has begun on a $100 million mixed-use complex developed by Forest City Realty Trust that offers retailers an interesting opportunity to serve the bustling Chinatown area of Los Angeles.

The project, named Blossom Plaza, will feature 237 apartments and 19,000-sq.-ft. of commercial space on a two acre tract at the intersection of Broadway and College Street. Leasing the space on behalf of Forest City will be JLL VP Lorena Tomb and associate Danielle Cornwell.

The steel framing on Ikea’s future Memphis store has progressed far enough to allow for the installation of the chain’s iconic blue panels, a construction milestone that keeps the store on track to open this fall.

The 271,000-sq.-ft. store is being built on 35 acres in the Wolfchase Corridor along the southwestern side of Interstate-40 near the Germantown Parkway exit.

London stands at the forefront of international retailing as a global retail powerhouse, and as the number one market in the world.

That’s one of the findings of a new study from JLL, which identifies the top 50 major cities worldwide that offer the top growth prospects for retailers’ expansion plans. Hong Kong follows London in the rankings, with Paris, Dubai and New York City rounding out the top five. (A list of the top 25 markets is at the end of article.)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Staples with a 2016 Energy Star Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements.

Staples, an Energy Star partner since 1992, is being honored for the energy efficient achievements of the certification of 612 total buildings, and recertification of 33 buildings in 2015.

Duluth Holdings just put a key element of its growth strategy in place, choosing cloud commerce solutions provider Demandware to integrate its physical and digital presence.

Going to market under the banner of Duluth Trading Company, the retailer said it selected Demandware to optimize is digital and omnichannel growth strategies.

Starbucks Corp. reported profit for the second quarter that exceeded expectations, but it disappointed on sales. The chain also offered a third-quarter earnings outlook that was shy of forecasts.

For the quarter ended March 27, Starbucks reported $4.99 billion in sales, up 9% from $4.56 billion in the year-ago period. Although sales set a new record for a non-holiday quarter, they but still fell short of analyst estimates of $5.03 billion.

Net income rose 18% to $575.1 million on strong U.S. sales.

Troubled teen retailer Aeropostale Inc. has been dealt another blow.

On Friday, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading of the retailer’s stock with immediate effect, due to an "abnormally low" trading price.

Aeropostale does not intend to appeal the delisting. It said its shares will instead be traded on the OTCQX Best Market, an over-the-counter market operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. The new ticker is "AROP".

American Family Association has called on its members to boycott Target Corp. over the chain’s decision to allow transgender employees and customers to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

The group said it had gathered 172,494 signatures on a boycott petition by mid-morning on Friday.