Brooks Brothers

Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Centers, Inc. has officially broken ground on its new Taubman Prestige Outlets Chesterfield project by hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on July 27.

As part of the ceremony, Taubman revealed a variety of store names that will make their debuts at the new outlet mall, among them Banana Republic Factory Store, Gap Outlet, J. Crew Factory, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, 2b Bebe, American Eagle Outfitters - Off Campus, and Sunglass Hut.

Merrimack, N.H. -- Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group said Thursday that it has opened Merrimack Premium Outlets, an upscale outlet shopping center serving the Greater Boston and Nashua markets.

New York -- Brooks Bros. Group and Reliance Brands Limited announced Tuesday the formation of a joint venture company in India.

Reliance Brands, a division of Reliance Industries Group, will use its local connections to bring the American brand to India.

Orlando, Fla. -- Jones Lang LaSalle announced that it was selected for two retail assignments in Florida: management and leasing for the Galleria at Fort Lauderdale in Ft. Lauderdale and management for Vero Beach Outlets in Vero Beach.

The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale is a 964,423-sq.-ft. super-regional mall in South Florida, anchored by Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and Dillard’s.

Boston -- Aberdeen Group’s 3rd annual Retail and Consumer Markets Summit, Retail on Broadway: Game-Changing Technologies -- Creating a Winning Game Plan, will be held May 1-2, at the Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York City.

While there still is not enough new shopping center construction to warrant a “Fastest-Growing Developers” ranking system — as Chain Store Age provided for 20 consecutive years, from 1989 to 2008 — progress continues to be made.

2014 marked progress in new development, particularly on the outlet front

After nearly a decade of stalled growth in the shopping center industry, 2014 finally saw progress being made on the new development front. While it’s true that much of the ground-up construction was of the outlet center ilk, the value sector wasn’t the only new-build push.

New York -- Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group said it has orchestrated a long-term lease for the first Armani Junior standalone flagship in the United States at 1225 Madison Avenue, on the northeast corner at 88th Street in Manhattan.      

Neighboring retailers along the corridor include Brooks Brothers, Ankasa, Jacadi, Rachel Riley, J.Crew, Buckhouse, Jack Rogers, Joie, Koos, Intimacy, Ann Crabtree, Rose Pope Maternity and The Shoe Box.