Real Estate

Chicago -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation has recently been retained as an agent on behalf of Yoga Six during its multiple store roll-out in the Chicago area.

Yoga Six has signed two new leases in the Chicago area. The retailer signed on for 6,626 sq. ft. at 1150 North State in Gold Coast and 6,028 sq. ft. at Roosevelt Collection in South Loop. The yoga studio currently has one location in Lincoln Park and plans to open five stores in the Chicago area by 2015.

Chicago -- JLL has bolstered its tenant representation practice with the addition of Jason Press as VP in the firm’s Chicago office, working on the team lead by executive VP Lew Kornberg.

Press joins JLL with more than 15 years of real estate experience facilitating hundreds of transactions valued in excess of $500 million. Prior to JLL, he co-founded North Park Properties to acquire investment properties in the Chicagoland area.

Roseville, Minn. -- JLL Retail announced the firm has been retained to manage Rosedale Square, a 160,000-sq.-ft. upscale, grocery-anchored strip center in Roseville, Minnesota.

The property’s is currently 94% occupied.

Canton, Mass. – Charges related to the decision by Destination XL Group Inc. to exit the Sears Canada Direct business resulted in the retailer’s net loss growing to $4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, from $1.6 million a year earlier.

Total sales fared better, driven by increased traffic and higher conversion rates, increasing 6% to $103.7 million, compared with $98 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.Same-store sales rose 7%.

San Jacinto, Calif. -- Circle K Stores, Inc. has broken ground on its newest flagship prototype in Southern California, a 4,500-sq.-ft. convenience store offering fresh food, a gas station with eight fuel pumps, and a self-serve state-of-the-art carwash. The combo concept, located in the city of Jacinto, is expected to be open for business in late 2014.

Abercrombie & Fitch credited an ongoing profit improvement initiative as driving its net income growth in the second quarter, which increased 13% to $12.9 million, from $11.4 million a year ago, and beat Wall Street estimates.

But the company’s revenue decreased 5.8% to $890.6 million in the quarter, and same-store sales dropped 7%, with U.S. same-store sales down 5%. The third quarter may see some progress, however, since it will include back-to-school sales.

New York – Profit and revenue for Tiffany & Co. exceeded Wall Street predictions during the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Net earnings rose 16% to $124 million from $107 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year, which the retailer attributed to worldwide net sales growth and gross margin improvements.

Worldwide net sales increased 7% to $992.9 million, from $925.9 million. Strong performance in the colored diamond and statement jewelry categories helped drive sales.

Grocery-anchored centers respond to changing consumer tastes and consolidation

As supermarket tenants are challenged to meet the needs of an increasingly diversified and sophisticated consumer base, and given the significant trend toward consolidation, landlords are tasked with delivering top-notch grocery-anchored centers — with a diminishing number of anchors from which to choose.

Add in growing pressure on the grocery segment from competitors in the mass merchandise, discount and even dollar store verticals, plus small — but real — grocery in

When Blanklabel.com launched in 2009, it set out to redefine notions of custom-tailored menswear, long the purview of the luxury market, by offering bespoke garments at affordable department store prices.

The startup took things a step further by updating the custom concept with a very 21st century, crowdsourcing twist: It offered shoppers a hand in the design of the merchandise by allowing them to pick their own details — from the cut of a shirt to the lining of a collar.

Blank Label is now bringing the disciplines it h