Development/Redevelopment

New York City -- British fashion retailer L.K.Bennett, opened its third U.S. boutique, at The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack, N. J.

“We have over 100 stores in the UK. now — and in the long term weʼd like to have the same number of stores in the U.S.,” said Robert Bensoussan, CEO London.

New York City -- Saks plans to close its 20,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th store in Triangle Factory Outlets in Morrisville, N.C., (metropolitan Raleigh) by Jan. 1.

The company opened a 30,000-sq.-ft. Off 5th location in Tanger Outlet Center of the Piedmont in nearby Mebane, N.C., in 2010, which will serve as a replacement store for the closing location. The new Mebane store was designed in the chain’s loft” format that debuted in 2008 and which redefined and elevated the outlet shopping experience.

San Francisco -- X Team International, an international alliance of retail real estate advisors, announced the election of John Cumbelich as its new president and Clay Mote and David Larson as new board members.

Exiting president is Nelson Wheeler of Strategic Retail Advisors-California.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe's Monday announced that it would close several stores and discontinue a number of planned new store projects as the company looks to bounce back from a second quarter of declining earnings and flat same-store sales.

The company closed 10 locations on Oct. 16 and said it would close another 10 within the month, following an inventory sell-through.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe's Cos.  announced Monday it will open 10 to 15 stores annually in North America from 2012 forward, down from its prior target of 30 stores, and will close 20 underperforming locations. The chain is on track to open 25 stores as planned in 2011.

The stores scheduled to be closed are in 15 states, ranging from California to Maine. The closings will impact some 1,950 employees.

Although Walmart won’t provide official fourth-quarter sales guidance until Nov. 15 when it releases third-quarter sales, company executives sounded very bullish about Walmart’s prospects for holiday success and longer-term growth during an all-day meeting with financial analysts on Wednesday.

Middleton, Wis. -- American Girl, a division of Mattel, will open a store at Chesterfield Mall, in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Mo.

The 10,850-sq-.ft. American Girl store is slated to open in spring 2012.

Bossier City, La. -- Covington, La.-based Stirling Properties, developer and property manager of Stirling Bossier Shopping Center, in Bossier City, La., announced the addition of Old Navy, Ulta Beauty, Maurices, Mattress Firm, The Joint and GNC to the center’s tenant lineup.