Development/Redevelopment

Williams-Sonoma is making its debut in South Korea.   By entering into a strategic franchise agreement with home goods retailer Hyundai Livart Furniture, Williams-Sonoma opened a combined Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids store, as well as a West Elm store in South Korea’s Hyundai City Mall Garden 5. A Williams Sonoma location opened at Hyundai Department store Mokdong. These are the first of 30 stores that Williams-Sonoma plans to open across the country over the next 10 years, according to the retailer.  

Enough of the “retail is dying” narrative that has dominated so many headlines the past few months. It’s way overplayed.

Brick-and-mortar is evolving, not dying. And it’s full of exciting new players — many of them digitally native — that are infusing the industry with something it can always use: new blood. Here’s a quick rundown of some of these newcomers to the physical space:

As striking as is the interior of Swire’s Brickell City Centre, where every turn of every corner is a possible photo for Architectural Digest, it’s the parking garage that impressed me most.

Trending Stores: No two stores are exactly alike at Warby Parker. But the popular eyewear company’s new store in Los Angeles, above, is a particular standout for its celebration of Hollywood’s moviemaking history. The store combines Warby Parker’s signature library-style design and fixtures with such location-specific elements as a classic movie theater-styled marquee with rotating titles, a Hollywood-themed mural, and a display of movie clapboards behind the checkout.

Home improvement start-up is dedicated to healthy, sustainable homes

A start-up home improvement retailer with a green conscience has expanded out of its Austin, Texas, home with a first-of-its-kind store that’s generating lots of buzz.

TreeHouse has opened the nation’s first home improvement “energy positive” (meaning it will generate more energy than it uses) store, at The Hill, a shopping center in Dallas. It’s the start-up retailer’s second location — but not for long. An additional store, planned for the Plano, Texas, area, is due to open this fall.

The Electric Daisy Carnival drew 130,000 young people to Las Vegas on its final day last year. This summer, Billy Joel will sell out his 43rd concert at Madison Square Garden, where floor tickets sell in the $200 range. No matter the age or inclination, people still want to leave the house and be with other people. They just need a really good reason to do so. Here are 10 retail centers that have some of the best reasons:

The Neighborhoods at Butler

Location: Gainesville, Fla.

Size: 2.1 million sq. ft. (1.75 million sq. ft. with an additional 350,000 sq. ft. under development)

Developer/Owner: Butler Enterprises

Grocery anchor: Publix (West), Publix (Central), Trader Joe’s, Aldi, plus sizeable food components in Walmart, Sam’s Club and Target. Adding Whole Foods to anchor Butler Town Center (under construction with a planned opening winter 2018).

With home remodeling and housing starts on the rise, The Tile Shop is in a sweet spot. The specialty retailer of manufactured and nature stone tiles reported an 8.8% increase in net sales and a 4.9% increase in same-store sales for its first quarter. With 130 stores in 31 states, The Tile Shop displays its tiles in a showroomlike environment that includes full-room tiled displays and a design studio where customers can utilize 3-D renderings to visualize their design ideas.

The challenges of physical retail have inspired new concepts and new entrants to the supermarket business in America

A 40-year-old mall in San Francisco’s East Bay that was put on the auction block has been snatched up by a partnership that pledges to revitalize the “irreplaceable” property.   New owners LGB Real Estate Companies and Aviva Investors see a successful, mixed-use future for the 1.1 million-sq.-ft. retail center.