Strategy

Woodland Hills, Calif. — GrowLife has announced the opening of its seventh store in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Oct. 25.

GrowLife Hydroponics operates in the legal cannabis industry with online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Starbucks Corp. unveiled its new retail format, Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar, with the debut location opening on Manhattan's  East Side. The store features a wide variety of hot brewed and iced teas, tea fusion beverages and  tea-related merchandise. It also offers a range of food items, from salads to flatbreads to pastries and other baked goods, with a bakery-like presentations.

Mike Graen has left his position as director of innovations and supplier collaboration at Walmart to assume a new role with leading merchandising and marketing services company Crossmark.

Grain will serve as managing director of the Crossmark Center for Collaboration currently under construction adjacent to Walmart’s headquarters on Southwest 8th Street in Bentonville, Ar.

New York — GRK Fresh, a fast-casual Greek restaurant located at 111 Fulton Street, has signed a lease for its second Manhattan location at 451 Lexington Avenue in the Grand Central area. The new GRK Fresh will span 2,150 sq. ft.

Winick Realty Group represented GRK Fresh in its search for a Midtown location. CBRE Group represented the landlord — Landlord Regency Development.

New York -- Brooks Brothers today announced that Mary Pytko has joined the company as its new executive VP of global human resources.

Pytko has held leadership roles at companies including American Express and Lord & Taylor. Most recently she was senior VP, human resources at the Thomson Reuters Corporation.

Competition from digital entertainment providers may be on the rise, but with an installed base of 43,600 locations, rental activity at Redbox hit a new high in the third quarter and generated traffic for retail partners in the process.

Shanghai, China -- The Walt Disney Co. announced plans to open its first store in mainland China, in Shanghai. The 53,000-sq.-ft. Disney Store, expected to open in early 2015, will be the company’s largest store to date.

The store will be located in Shanghai's financial hub. It will feature an approximate 10,800-sq.-ft. retail space, and a Disney-themed outdoor plaza area that can be used to host outdoor events. The surrounding area has foot traffic of more than 40 million visitors a year.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue is set to unveil a newly renovated men’s store at its Boca Raton, Fla., location in the Town Center at Boca Raton on Nov. 20.

The renovations focus on several enhancements, including six new dedicated vendor shops from Corneliani, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Armani Collezioni, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren Black Label, plus a denim shop and a new space for the exclusive Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s Collection.