Real Estate

San Francisco -- Gap said Tuesday it plans to open stores in both Vietnam and Guam as part of the retailer’s efforts to ramp up overseas expansion.

A Gap store is slated to open in Vietnam in October, followed by a Banana Republic store in late 2012.

The first two Gap stores will open in Ho Chi Minh City as part of a franchise deal with Imex Pan Pacific, with additional stores set for Hanoi in 2012.

Cape Town, South Africa -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that Shoprite Holdings Ltd. has announced plans to speed up its store expansion this year as it faces increased competition from Wal-Mart Stores.

South Africa’s largest retailer by market value, Shoprite said it will add 106 stores by June 2012. That compares with 96 openings in the same period last year. The company currently operates 1,246 stores.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us is on track to open 21 stores across 13 states by yearend, including 11 “R” Superstores and 10 “Side-by-Side” locations. (The “R” format combines full-size Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores under one roof.)

The new reflect the company’s strategy to bring Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us together under one roof in an integrated store format, providing customers with a streamlined shopping environment.

New York City -- Spencer Gifts, a mainstay of malls across North America, has leased its first-ever location in Manhattan. The 60-year-old chain operates more than 600 stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

As one of Spencer’s few free-standing locations, the store, located downtown near New York University, encompasses over 1,840 sq. ft. on the ground floor. It is due  to open in advance of the holiday season.

Davis, Calif. -- Regency Centers, a national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers, closed on the acquisition of Oak Shade Town Center, a 103,762-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center anchored by Safeway, Rite Aid and OfficeMax in Davis, Calif. The center is located within a mile of the University of California, Davis.

The property was purchased on August 18 for $35 million from the center’s original owner. 

 

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Monday celebrates the re-opening of two Joplin, Mo., stores just 90 days after one was severely damaged and the other demolished by a tornado that swept through the city on May 22. The drug stores are the first major retailers in the area to re-open since the storm.

The store at Range Line Road and 20th Street was completely rebuilt from the foundation up at a pace faster than any other store in the company’s 110-year history.

Canton, Mass. -- Casual Male Retail Group continues to roll out its DestinationXL format, with the opening of its eighth store, in Fairless Hills, Pa.

DXL is an all-inclusive destination that encompasses Casual Male’s four existing apparel businesses, Casual Male XL, Rochester Big & Tall, Shoes XL and B&T Direct.

The company plans to open up to 13 DXL stores during the balance of 2011, another 20-30 stores during 2012 and approximately 100 stores over a four to five year period.

It’s always satisfying to look back and enjoy your professional successes. While I see nothing wrong with patting yourself on the back and basking in well-earned personal kudos, I have found that, from time to time, we must also remember where we’ve fallen short. Thinking about past mistakes certainly keeps me humble. More importantly, I’m almost always able to learn something from my missteps. After all, the more insight and information I can gather about why I was wrong about something, the more accurate I will be in the future.