Real Estate

Prime retail real estate in Southern California and nearby states is now available after bankrupt Sport Chalet retained A&G Realty Partners to sell its assets.

Photo: Erik Westedt, left, and Scott Kaplan have joined JLL’s growing Southern California team.

GNC Holdings Inc. announced Monday it is undertaking a strategic review whose options could include a sale of the company.

The health-and-wellness retailer said it is also considering accelerated refranchising strategies, partnerships and other collaborations, and capital structure optimization. The announcement comes on the heels of disappointing first quarter results.

The first Party City location has opened in Mexico and with the help of strategic franchise partner Grupo Oprimax a total of 80 locations are planned.

Sierra Trading Post, an online retailer TJX Cos. acquired in 2012, is accelerating store expansion and could become a new growth driver for the nation’s leading off price retailer with designs on extending its value proposition to the outdoor and active lifestyle world.

Serena & Lily has opened a flagship in a landmark structure in Wesport, Connecticut.

The 3,100-sq.-ft., three-story store is located in the historic Kemper-Gunn House, which was built in 1889 in the Queen Anne Victorian style. The retailer worked to preserve the original charm and character of the house, from the elaborate detailing in the exterior façade to saving the interior trim, hardware, hand-carved staircase, and stained glass windows.

Everyone in the Gainesville, Florida, area knows Butler Plaza, the open-air retail center at Archer Road and SW 34th Street. Currently home to more than 1 million sq. ft. of retail and restaurants, it’s where north central Florida residents, 100,000 daytime employees and 75,000 students at the University of Florida and other colleges have filled their basic needs and wants for decades.

At a time when more and more online retailers are successfully expanding to brick-and-mortar locations, it’s worth taking a moment to examine how those brands are approaching the site selection process. The specific and strategic considerations that online retailers review when assessing possible brick-and-mortar locations not only tells us a lot about what’s behind that thought process, but provides important hints about the priorities and perspectives shaping retailer behavior in an increasingly omnichannel world.