Entertainment Tie-ins / Licensing

Fun. And smaller stores.   Both are part of Toys “R” Us’ plan to revive itself, Bloomberg reported.  

Triple Five’s American Dream project in the New Jersey Meadowlands got closer to the finish line today with the announcement that Nickelodeon would be attaching its name and entertainment brands to the retail-entertainment center’s theme park.   To be called Nickelodeon Universe, the 8.5-acre indoor amusement park — reputed by Triple Five to be the Western Hemisphere’s largest — will feature rides themed by Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, Blaze, and the Monster Machines.  

Lululemon has opened a new concept store in Toronto that’s unlike anything the retailer has done to date.   The 10,000-sq.-ft. store is part retail, part health food café, part gallery — and part practice studio, according to a report by torontolife.com. It even boasts a trailer.    For more, and photos, click here.

Grandin Road has made the leap to brick-and-mortar with a spooky in-shop at Macy’s Manhattan flagship.
   
The brand’s 1,400-sq.-ft. Halloween pop-up is elaborately designed to offer a bewitching immersive experience, complete with digital signage animated with spiders, a costumed witch and scary animatronic products (also available for purchase.) An on-site photo booth allows customers to create a fun memento of their visit.
 

Target Corp. is putting out the red carpet for the opening of New York Fashion Week.     The retailer, in partnership with IMG, the parent company behind Fashion Week, opened a temporary sing-a-long piano lounge at The Park at Moynihan Station (on West 33rd Street), one of the official NYFW venues. It kicked off the fashion event with an opening party that drew such luminaries as Queen Latifah, Christie Brinkley, and Kendall Jenner.  

Halloween has arrived at Macy’s flagship.   Home décor direct-marketer Grandin Road has opened its first-ever brick-and-mortar space, a pop-up at Macy's Herald Square flagship in Manhattan.    The space is designed to inspire, spook and entertain shoppers throughout the months of September and October.   

Ikea is giving new meaning to do-it-yourself retailing.   The home furnishings giant will open a pop-up DIY restaurant in the Shoreditch section of London where patrons will build their own meals, serving as the chef and preparing food for their group.    

Mexico City-based developer Grupo GICSA announced plans for 14 new experiential retail centers it will format under the trademarked term, “Mallterntainment.” GICSA is perhaps best known as the developer of the Paseo Arcos Bosques retail center in Mexico City (above).   Malltertainment developments will hew to four pillars, according to GICSA:   • Average area of 2 million sq. ft.;  

The story of Hy’s Toggery has been in the making for nearly half a century. What began in 1969 as a move by company founder Hy Wakstein to establish his own high-end menswear operation after 20-plus years in the industry would ultimately become a brand that has matured into one of the most respected independent clothiers in the southeast.