Strategy

Conshohocken, Pa. – Ikea is taking a sunny approach to energy at its soon-to-open St. Louis store. The retailer has completed installation of solar panels atop its 380,000-sq.-ft. St. Louis store opening Sept. 30.

New York – Simon Venture Group, the corporate investment arm of Simon Property Group, is among the companies saying yes to light-based data collection. Simon participated in a private funding round of $36 million led by Cisco Investments and including Acuity Brands and GE Ventures, for Sunnyvale, California-based Sensity Systems Inc.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. is expanding its presence in Alabama. The regional department store chain will open a new 237,000-sq.-ft. flagship store at The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Alabama.

Belk will be taking the place of an existing Sears, and expanding on its existing presence at The Shoppes at Bel Air. This activity is taking place following recent Reuters reports that private equity firm Sycamore Partners may be preparing to bid up to $3.5 billion for Belk.

Montvale, N.J. – So far, chapter 11 bankruptcy appears to be going as planned for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P). A&P has received approval for financing from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, bids for some stores, and will close 25 stores in the near term due to “lack of interest” and ongoing losses.

Chicago – Specialty footwear retailer BucketFeet, which launched online in 2011 and entered the world of brick-and-mortar retailing with its first stores (called “studios” in 2013), is seeking to better understand studio shoppers. BucketFeet is partnering with store analytics provider RetailNext to help extend its brick-and-mortar service and shopper experience capabilities.

Boasting a proprietary dynamic pricing algorithm, the new online shopping club Jet.com officially launched on July 21 with plans to reach a lofty sales milestone faster than other retailer.

Spokane, Wash. – Automated water management solutions vendor Apana is trying to make saving water a little easier. Apana is generally releasing its cloud-based solution for commercial and industrial companies to save water and money.

At a time when the future of the company is unclear, Belk Inc. is reportedly building another flagship store.

Rouse Properties Inc. announced it has signed a lease with Belk Inc. to open a new 237,000 square foot flagship store at The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Ala. Belk will be taking the place of an existing Sears, and expanding on its already integral presence at The Shoppes at Bel Air.