Real Estate

New store format emphasizes convenience

In its most ambitious store redesign to date, Target Corp. will debut its next-generation format in October, in a 124,000-sq.-ft. store in Richmond, Texas. The new prototype is designed for flexibility and convenience, and will offer open sight lines and elevated product presentations. It also comes with a variety of timesaving features, physical as well as digital.

In addition, 40 additional Target stores will receive elements of the redesign when they are updated, also in October. And there is more to come.

National Realty & Development Corp. landed the first anchor for its new project in Middletown, New Jersey, and it’s a whopper.  

Abercrombie & Fitch may sell itself.   The teen apparel chain on Wednesday confirmed it is in preliminary discussions with several parties regarding a potential transaction with the company.   Abercrombie confirmed the news after Reuters reported that the retailer had hired an investment bank, Perella Weinberg Partners, to field takeover interest from other retailers.  

CEO Joe Coradino and PREIT are serious about recapturing vacant department store space and refilling it with new customer experiences.   Just weeks after the opening of a Legoland Discovery Center at its Plymouth Meeting Mall in the Philadelphia suburbs, PREIT announced it had executed a lease at that property with 5 Wits, a live-action entertainment concept that immerses people into one of three adventures: Tomb, Deep Space, or Drago’s Castle.  

Shopping center owners added fewer centers in 2016, but demonstrated that less is more

As physical shopping centers battle furiously for customer share, more developers are realizing that bells and whistles aren’t just optional; they’re essential. No matter the size or scope, new shopping centers have to offer something extra to an increasingly discerning consumer — and the group of owners highlighted here is doing just that.

People and corporations are streaming back into America’s downtowns. Are they chain retailers’ best hope for growth?

“City of stars, are you shining just for me?” sings Ryan Gosling in this year’s hit movie musical “La La Land.” “City of stars, there’s so much that I can’t see.”

Whether purchasing individual assets or restructuring entire portfolios, top acquirers have plans and stick to them.

Stick to your knitting. That appears to be the mantra for this year’s top acquirers, all of which, save one, have appeared on this list in previous years. Most relate that, in the late stages of a recovery, discipline, tenacity and structure are key to closing deals. This year, staffers at two of these tenacious companies can chant, “We’re No. 1!”

Trending Stores: The Frye Company’s location in Denver took top honors as Store of the Year in the 2017 Shop! store design competition. With a design that celebrates the artisan heritage of Frye, one of the country’s oldest footwear companies, the 2,460-sq.-ft. store has a warm and comfortable vibe, with a modern ski-lodge aesthetic. Local references include a massive working fireplace dressed with stone from local quarries, and rugs woven with American Indian motifs.