Real Estate

Ikea is looking to open its second location in Tennessee.   The home furnishings chain plans to submit plans to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, for a store in the Nashville area. Construction of the 341,000-sq.-ft. proposed Ikea could begin in spring with an opening in summer 2020.  

Starbucks is keeping good on its latest national initiative.    The coffee giant said it will open a store in Dallas, in spring 2018, and Trenton, New Jersey, later this year, as part of its program to invest in at least 15 underserved communities across the U.S. by 2018. To date, Starbucks has opened six similar stores, including in Ferguson, Missouri, central Phoenix, and East Baltimore.  

Staples Inc. has rejected a buyout offer.   The company turned down a takeover offer from Cerberus Capital Management, saying it was too low, Bloomberg reported. However, another private equity firm, Sycamore Partners, is still in the running to acquire Staples.      The bid from Cerberus valued the retailer at more than its current market value of about $5.8 billion, according to Bloomberg.   

As the International Council of Shopping Centers shut the doors on its RECon show in Las Vegas this week, Chain Store Age asked top brokers and third-party managers for their take on the temperature of physical retail. Not quite sick, not quite well, but certainly out of rehab and hard at work on recovery, was the general diagnosis.  

As many mall-based specialty retailers continue to struggle, off-pricers continue to flourish and expand. And Burlington Stores is no exception.   Burlington's net income in the quarter, ended April 29, increased to $52.4 million, or $.73 per diluted share, which beat Wall Street expectations of 70 cents. In the year-ago period, the retailer reported net income of $37.5 million.   

A decade from now, there’s not likely to be a shopping center — a successful one, at least — without click-and-pick meals, several fitness options, and healthy food and beverage purveyors.   That was the take of Phillips’ Edison’s VP of national accounts Michael Conway during a session at the RECon show. Some things all centers will soon provide, according to Conway:  

PREIT’s mall-pruning program picked up during the retail real estate industry’s big RECon show.   As the show floor opened in Las Vegas, the Philadelphia-based company announced it had put up for sale Logan Valley Mall in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and Valley View Mall in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. PREIT reported it had received unsolicited interest in these properties and was willing to dispose of them to increase its cash position.  

Among several developers reporting positive signs for leasing at the RECon Show in Las Vegas was Olshan Properties.   Head of Retail Ken Marshall said media reports about retail’s downfall did not ring true at his company. “The first few months of 2017 generated significant leasing activity throughout our highly-diversified retail portfolio and, most notably, within our retail holdings that are housed in mixed-use environments,” he said, noting that the trend began last year.