Development/Redevelopment

Overall holiday shopping season sales numbers have been rolling in, and the news confirms what many retail real estate analysts (including myself) suspected: 2014 holiday sales were strong. Nothing earth-shattering — but plenty good enough to chalk this one up as a win. There were some bright and not-so-bright spots (December sales were weaker than expected, for example, and numbers didn’t hit some of the more optimistic overall projections), but the takeaway is that we did see the anticipated increase that the industry was looking for.

New York -- Uniqlo will enter Canada in the fall of 2016, opening a store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto, and one at the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Uniqlo currently operates some 1,500 stores, with locations in Japan, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and the United States.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corporation announced t that Ray Payne, currently VP, real estate west coast, has been promoted to group VP, real estate. Payne succeeds Karen Smith, who retired last year after more than 35 years with the company.

In his new position, Payne will be responsible for developing and executing the company’s real estate strategy nationwide, including establishing a pipeline of properties for new and relocated stores.

By Kris Bjorson, JLL

Things didn’t work for Target in Canada, but that hasn’t deterred Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., from announcing plans to enter the market with its UNIQLO format.

The company’s first stores aren’t expected to open until the fall of 2016 when two flagship locations offering budget priced apparel measuring 24,000 and 28,000 square feet are introduced in Toronto.

Mesa, Ariz. -- Brown Group announced that Fry’s Food & Drug will anchor the retail developer’s new Mulberry Marketplace, to be built at the northwest corner of Guadalupe Road and Signal Butte Road in Mesa, Arizona.

The development is comprised of 17.70 acres – 5.3 acres owned by Brown Group partners Gary Brown and Todd Kjar, and 12.4 acres owned by Fry’s. Mulberry Marketplace will be the third Fry’s-anchored center Brown Group has developed in the last five years

Tarrytown, N.Y. -- DLC Management Corporation announced the promotions of Adam Greenberg and Heather Moon from associate directors of leasing to directors of leasing for their respective regions.
 
According to DLC, both Greenberg and Moon have demonstrated strong deal-making skills through the number of deals they have completed in any given year, problem-solving for key spaces/vacancies, and the execution of overall property business plans.

Guilford, Conn. -- The Fresh Market continues to grow its specialty grocery chain in the state of Connecticut with a new location slated for Guilford. The store, expected to open in late 2015, will be located in Guilford Commons, a new retail project being developed by Beechwood, Ohio-based DDR and situated near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Boston Post Road.  

Once opened, the Guilford Fresh Market will be the grocer’s third in the state, joining stores in Avon and Westport.

Cincinnati - Macy’s Inc. plans to relocate its West Sacramento, California-based direct-to-consumer fulfillment center to a larger facility in a nearby location in Sacramento County to support continued sales growth driven by its omnichannel strategy. Contingent on approvals by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Macy’s will begin operations in summer 2015 at a 385,000-sq.-ft. facility, creating approximately 100 new jobs.

New York -- Michael Kors is pleased to announce that it will open its largest Japanese flagship store this fall, in Tokyo’s Ginza district. The store will be the first in the world to carry every category offered by the global luxury lifestyle brand.