Real Estate

Dallas -- 7-Eleven said Tuesday it has completed its acquisition of 55 Sam’s Mart stores in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area, part of the c-store operator’s plan to accelerate its growth in the region.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Mississauga, Ontario -- Wal-Mart Stores isn’t about to let the grass grow under its feet in Canada. The discounter plans to spend about $753 million this fiscal year to expand its store presence in Canada, before rival Target Corp. begins its push in the country.

Dallas  -- The Container Store announced it will open six locations in 2012, making this the largest real estate growth year in the company's history and bringing the company's store count to 59 by year's end. 

The new stores will be located in Arlington, Texas;  Las Vegas; El Segundo, Calif., Peabody, Mass., and Westbury, N.Y., with a sixth location still being finalized.

New York -- H. E. Butt Grocery Co. plans to spend about $100 million to expand, remodel and relocate several of its stores in Austin, Texas, during 2012, the  Austin American-Statesman reported. The move is part of a larger, statewide expansion and price-cutting campaign. 

Beachwood, Ohio -- Shopping center owner and manager DDR Corp. announced Monday the launch of FranchiseConnect, a new online platform connecting shopping centers, franchise opportunities and entrepreneurs.

FranchiseConnect is DDR's latest program designed to provide business opportunities to aspirational entrepreneurs. DDR recently launched Set Up Shop, a program offering flexible terms at specific locations for entrepreneurs and expanding small businesses.

Chain Store Age’s 48th annual SPECS Conference will be held March 4-7, at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Fla. The industry’s premier retail store development and facilities event, SPECS combines a targeted and comprehensive educational program with a dynamic exhibit floor.

For more information and to register for the event, click here.

Join the SPECS group on Linkedin.

Denver -- Chipotle Mexican Grill expects to open 155–165 new Chipotle locations in 2012.

"While this is more restaurants than we've ever opened in a single year, we are confident," said co-CEO Montgomery Moran in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Moran cited the "quality of what's in the real estate pipeline."

 

Salisbury, N.C. -- Bottom Dollar Food will open an additional seven stores in the greater Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio, markets on Feb. 9

The discount grocer opened its first seven stores in the greater Pittsburgh area on Jan. 26.
 

Hong Kong -- Esprit Holdings said Thursday that it will close all 93 of its stores in North America, after abandoning previously announced plans to sell off the business or find a licensed operator to run the stores.

However, according to an emailed statement by Patrick Lau, head of investor relations and mergers and acquisitions, Esprit plans to find one or more license partners to maintain the brand’s presence in North America.

Rochelle Park, N.J. -- A Wednesday report by Bloomberg said that United Retail Group Inc., parent to plus-size retailer The Avenue, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer cited disproportionately high leasing costs for the move and also announced plans to sell the company.

According to Bloomberg, an affiliate of Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management will serve as the stalking-horse bidder in a court-supervised auction.