Displays & Signs

If it feels like summer just ended, that’s because it did: the first day of fall was Sept. 22. But you can bet your bottom dollar that retailers aren’t going to let a little thing like the calendar get in the way of moving forward with their holiday plans. In fact, if the recent spate of depressing economic news is any indicator, this year some brands might literally be betting their bottom dollar on the anticipated holiday sales boost.

Pittsburgh -- Dick’s Sporting Goods will open its newly renovated store in Cary, N.C., on Sept. 29, featuring 56,000 sq. ft. of specialized services and experiential elements such as a golf simulator, club fitting center, putting green, archery lane with an on-site bow technician, and bike safety inspections, custom fittings, tune-ups and assembly.

Pearle Vision has debuted a new store design, in Legacy Village, Lyndhurst, Ohio. The  Cleveland-area store features a completely revamped look,  from a new brand logo and signage to modernized displays and a completely transformed floor plan.

The design, by WD Partners, incorporates the company's rich history, with a new eyeglass icon that speaks to the heritage of Dr. Pearle and the Pearle Vision brand. Accompanying the new logo and signage is "Est. 1961," a tribute that reinforces the company's commitment to a 50-year legacy.

Egg Harbor Township, N.J. -- Spirit Halloween, the largest seasonal Halloween retailer in North America, has officially opened the doors of some 1,050 plus locations in the United States and Canada for the 2013 Halloween season. The company this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Spirit stores provide one-stop shopping for everything from top costumes and decor, to accessories and party goods. The stores are feature a variety of interactive displays designed to entertain and — in tune with the season — thrill shoppers.

New York – Saks Inc. plans to open seven new Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th stores in 2014: The Outlets at Bloomfield in Pearl, Miss.; Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, Va.; Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach, Fla; Outlet Shoppes at Louisville/Lexington, Ky.; Twin Cities of Eagan in Minneapolis, Minn.; The Mayfair Collection in Mayfair, Wis.; and Easton Gateway in Columbus, Ohio.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th plans to open a new store in Aventura, Fla., on Sept. 20.

The store will be located in Town Center Aventura developed in partnership with Turnberry Media and will be the third Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th location in Miami. The 28,000-sq.-ft. layout includes an open floor plan, moveable fixtures and bright lighting.

Chicago -- Retail sales are forecast to rise 2.4% during the holiday season of November and December while total retail traffic will decrease 1.4% as compared to the year-ago period, according to ShopperTrak, a leading provider of shopper analytics. The company also notes that retailers have less time to capture peak holiday spending: There are only 25 days lie between Black Friday (Nov. 29) and Christmas this year, compared to 31 days in 2012. And unlike last year, consumers have only four (not five) full weekends to shop.

Los Angeles – Menemsha Solutions, a provider of retail development services, completed the design-build for online retailer JustFab.

JustFab’s first brick-and-mortar flagship is a 3,000-sq.-ft. space at Glendale Galleria, in Glendale, Calif. Menemsha Solutions’ design team created a retail space cohesive with the brand’s online shopping experience. Custom lighting, video screens and niche displays were designed and applied to creatively showcase the product.

City of Commerce, Calif. — 99 Cents Only Stores will open a 15,635-sq.-ft. store in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sept. 19.

As part of the grand opening, the first nine customers may buy a 40-inch Westinghouse flat-screen TV for 99 cents. The chain currently operates 326 across the southwest.