Starbucks Coffee Co.

Art Van Furniture will take over a 34,000-sq.-ft. space vacated by H.H. Gregg at Gurnee Town Center in Illinois, according to owner Retail Properties of America, Inc. The electronics chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year.   Art Van will bring the center to 98% occupied, according to RPAI, joining DSW, Old Navy, Starbucks, Ross Dress for Less, Five Below, and Bath & Body Works at the center west of Waukegan.  

Kevin Mansell, chairman, CEO and president of Kohl's, will retire in May 2018 at the end of the company’s annual shareholders meeting. The 35-year Kohl's veteran has served as its chief executive for nearly 10 years.  

Face-to-face human contact is not necessary for a brand to make a strong connection with consumers.   

Starbucks Corp. has named a former Walmart executive as its next COO.   The coffee giant appointed Rosalind Brewer as group president and COO, effective Oct. 2. She is the first woman, and first African American, to hold such a high post at Starbucks.  

Simon Property Group raised eyebrows in the real estate and retail communities this week with the filing a suit that challenged Starbucks’ decision to close 78 Teavana stores in Simon malls. All retailer 379 of the tea shops are slated for closure through next year.  

In what it claims to be the biggest-dollar real estate transaction in the state of Virginia this year, Morgan Properties bought the Mark Center in Alexandria for $509 million.   The Mark Center combines 2,664 residential units with 63,320 sq. ft. of retail on 150 acres within the Capital Beltway. The site features read access to Interstates 295, 395, and 495 and is within minutes of downtown Washington, D.C.  

The nation's largest shopping center operator is suing Starbucks Corp. over its plan to shutter the retailer's 78 Teavana stores in Simon malls.   In a lawsuit filed Aug. 21, Simon Property Group said that Starbucks is breaching its leases by closing the Teavana stores and “shirking its contractual obligations at the expense of Simon’s shopping centers and the dozens of communities they serve and support,” reported the Indianapolis Business Journal.   

Target has given its two-level store at Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis a $10 million top-to-bottom overhaul that combines the best of the retailer's digital and technology upgrades, elevated merchandise presentations and fulfillment services, with a goal to making the shopping experience  fast, efficient and fun.