Strategy

Need to fill empty space? Walk-in medical clinics hold a lot of tenant promise, as regional companies such as New York’s City Practice Group and national chains such as Humana’s Concentra increasingly find homes in spaces vacated by shuttered retailers in strip malls and shopping centers.

Hospitals are also getting in the game. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, for example, is building clinics in retail settings throughout the Nashville metro area.

Philadelphia -- PREIT announced that its recent sale of Palmer Park Mall marked the ninth lower-productivity mall sold by the company since having announced its plans to divest non-core properties in late 2012. These properties generated average sales per sf of $254 at the time of sale. The company also has four additional malls under contract with significant non-refundable deposits. Pro-forma January 31, 2016 portfolio sales per square foot excluding the assets sold or under contract for sale are $451.

The last several years have seen numerous chapter 11 bankruptcies with the most recent being The Sport Authority. It may seem counterintuitive, but bankruptcies are a sign of vibrant industry and give rise to new opportunities for those who know where to look.

Toys “R” Us is adding some communications expertise from Best Buy as the toy retailer announced it has named a a new executive VP.

The retailer said Amy von Walter will join the company as executive VP, Global Communications and Public Relations, effective March 14. She will report directly to chairman and CEO Dave Brandon.

Even if overuse of the words disruption and transformation hadn’t diluted their meaning, they would still come up short when describing global economy altering trend envisioned by some that could have a devastating impact on consumer spending.

Fabletics, the online fashion activewear brand co-founded by actress Kate Hudson, is flexing its muscle. The company is adding physical stores to its subscription-based e-commerce model and men’s workout gear to its mix.

Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, a specialty grocer focusing on fresh, natural and organic foods at accessible prices, is on a roll.

Barely two years out of the gate (the first store opened in April 2014, in Illinois), the Chicago-based company now counts 32 locations throughout the Midwest.

Its aggressive growth strategy calls for 60 stores by 2019. Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio are among the states targeted for growth.

Apple did not create the mobile payment market when it launched Apple Pay in September 2014.

However, Apple Pay did effectively bring mobile payment to the forefront of retailers’ omnichannel commerce strategies. Consumers are slowly starting to follow, with Deloitte data showing in-store mobile payments have increased from 5% of total in-store payments 2014 to 18% in 2015.