Corporate Governance

Reimagining Cumberland Farms
Cumberland Farms, a convenience store fixture in New England and central Florida for half a century, once fielded more than 1,000 stores. But, it has slimmed down to 600 locations as it transforms itself from a strip-center and gas station dairy store to a chain of freestanding, modern C-stores providing an array of food service options and gasoline.
Ulta Beauty Overhauls Online Experience
New e-commerce platform helps retailer better serve shoppers
Ulta Beauty is on a roll — offline and on. It’s growing in the physical space, with 100 new stores on tap for 2017, and is also expanding its capabilities in the digital space.
Ulta’s e-commerce sales hit $345.3 million in 2016, and online traffic continues to climb. For its most recently completed quarter, e-commerce sales grew 63.4%, and mobile volume rose more than 90%.

Finding Inspiration in a Tech Lab

Want to stay ahead of the competition — or at least keep pace with it? Invest in a tech lab — or an accelerator.
With the pressure to innovate greater than ever, savvy retailers understand they can no longer wait for new solutions and technologies to be proven in the field. That’s why so many of them have invested in tech labs (aka “retail innovation labs”).
The Next Great Thing

Trends offer new opportunities, responsibilities
The next great thing isn’t a piece of tech, an improved process, a branded message, or a fast-changing business model. It’s all this — at once. The fact is the next great thing is retail itself.
Retail lies at the convergence point of some of the most profound changes any business can experience. More, it plays out in front of customers and the rest of the world in real time. Retail brands that quickly harness new ideas by learning the details that make them work well become the winners.
Dealing with Asbestos

The best thing to do about asbestos? Leave it alone — if the structure is safe.
That was one of the takeaways from the SPECS session, “Hazardous Building Materials Among Us.”
Asbestos was a mainstay in both commercial and residential buildings for decades because, simply put, it was a cheap and readily available lifesaver, explained speaker Michael Ebel, VP and principal scientist at Amec Foster Wheeler.
“It was known as the ‘Miracle Mineral,’ heat-resistant, chemical-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and a poor electrical conductor,” Ebel said.
The Discipline of the Deal

Whether purchasing individual assets or restructuring entire portfolios, top acquirers have plans and stick to them.
Stick to your knitting. That appears to be the mantra for this year’s top acquirers, all of which, save one, have appeared on this list in previous years. Most relate that, in the late stages of a recovery, discipline, tenacity and structure are key to closing deals. This year, staffers at two of these tenacious companies can chant, “We’re No. 1!”
Real Estate’s 10 under 40

Every business magazine sports an “X Under 40” list celebrating precocious professionals. But, really, isn’t it almost always youthful drive and optimism that feeds the engine of progress?

The stories of Chain Store Age’s 2017 list of over-achievers under 40 abound with examples of young people from different disciplines who all discovered retail real estate as the perfect channel for their passions.
Takin’ It to the Street

People and corporations are streaming back into America’s downtowns. Are they chain retailers’ best hope for growth?
“City of stars, are you shining just for me?” sings Ryan Gosling in this year’s hit movie musical “La La Land.” “City of stars, there’s so much that I can’t see.”
Center Stage at SPECS 2017

Retail and restaurant executives, architects, suppliers and other industry professionals involved in store design/planning, construction and facility management gathered together for Chain Store Age’s 53rd annual SPECS conference.
The event, held at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Fla., focused on the evolution and innovation of physical stores in a digital age, and explored industry trends that are transforming how stores are designed, built, operated and maintained.
A Tale of Two City Developers

If you live in a big city, you gauge your age by the changing real estate. As a kid and then as a teenager, I saw Shea Stadium and Giant Stadium being built. Both are now memories. Driving a New York City cab in the early ’80s, I rarely got a fare to Williamsburg and, when I did, I quickly turned around and headed back to Manhattan over the Williamsburg Bridge.
Breakout Retailer Awards

Five dynamic retail and restaurant brands — Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, MOD Pizza, Sugarfina and Warby Parker — took home the honors as the winners of Chain Store Age’s annual Breakout Retailer Awards.

The awards, selected by CSA’s editorial board and sponsored by Paint Folks, recognize innovative retail and restaurant concepts that are on their way up —brands that have crossed the “newbie” line, and are well positioned for growth, in store, online, or both.
Quality Trumps Quantity

Shopping center owners added fewer centers in 2016, but demonstrated that less is more
As physical shopping centers battle furiously for customer share, more developers are realizing that bells and whistles aren’t just optional; they’re essential. No matter the size or scope, new shopping centers have to offer something extra to an increasingly discerning consumer — and the group of owners highlighted here is doing just that.