News Briefs

A digitally-native athleisure apparel brand has returned to physical retail for a limited time.

Halara, which launched in 2020 and has since gained a strong following on social media, has opened a pop-up location at Westfield UTC in San Diego. Open from Nov. 21 to Dec. 14, the “You Speak, We Listened” pop-up is billed as the brand’s most “transparent retail concept yet,” and is designed to show how customer feedback and community insights directly shape product design.

At the center of the space is The Halara Circle, the brand's ongoing co-creation initiative that invites customers to share detailed feedback and help shape future collections. Inside the pop-up, customers can see how input from real users drives iteration across key categories, including leggings, denim, and seasonal activewear.

[READ MORE: Athleisure brand Halara makes brick-and-mortar debut]

Highlights of Halara’s San Diego pop-up include the following:

• The Halara Circle Iteration Wall: A behind-the-scenes look at how leggings, denim, and bestsellers evolve after thousands of customer inputs;
• Denim “Washing Machine” installation: A durability test brought to life — Halara Flex Denim washed five, 10, 15, and 20 times to show how fabric R&D works;
• Legging evolution display: Four generations of one style side-by-side, illustrating pattern changes sparked by social comments and reviews;
• Live co-creation: Visitors can submit feedback on-site, try products on, and join The Halara Circle for a chance to receive test products; and
• Events + community: Wellness classes, meetups, and workshops designed to foster an offline community around the Halara brand.

Located near the University of California San Diego, Westfield UTC boasts approximately 170 retail stores and 75 food & beverage tenants.

CBRE has announced that it has hired Darrell Palasciano, a veteran retail leasing and development advisor with more than two decades of experience, as a senior VP of its Retail Services group. 

He will lead CBRE’s retail team in Charlotte, collaborating with owners, retailers, and other stakeholders to develop tailored strategies that support clients throughout the retail landscape.  

“Darrel’s deep understanding of retail dynamics and strong relationships across the industry will enable us to deliver unmatched value and expand our leadership in this sector,” said Brett Gray, the senior managing director of CBRE’s Charlotte office.  

Palasciano began his career as director of sales and leasing at a Charlotte development firm before spending more than a decade with TSCG. 

Most recently, he advised developers, owners, and leading retailers at The Providence Group, focusing on new construction, redevelopment, urban infill, out-parcel development, and tenant disposition. 

He has also led portfolio dispositions for several national and regional retail and restaurant chains.  

 Charlotte is a dynamic retail market, and the Carolinas offer tremendous opportunities,” said Palasciano. “I look forward to collaborating with a wide range of clients to strengthen the region’s retail landscape.”  

Palasciano earned a finance degree from UNC Charlotte and has held several leadership positions with ICSC, most recently serving as the state chair for North and South Carolina.

The nation’s largest men’s big and tall specialty retailer is letting shoppers create high-tech personalized fit profiles — on its app and in select stores.

Destination XL Group Inc. (DXL) is launching an in-house-developed scanning solution called FitMap on its mobile app, as well as in more than 80 stores nationwide. The tool is available on an iPhone or iPad via the DXL app and measures 243 data points to create a precise, personalized fit profile.

After a scan, big and tall men will have access to their correct size across DXL's exclusive brands, as well as other brands including Polo Ralph Lauren, Psycho Bunny, Brooks Brothers, and Reebok.

"For years, inconsistent sizing has made shopping difficult, particularly for big and tall men who often struggle to find their size at all," said Harvey Kanter, president and CEO of DXL. "With the FitMap scanning technology now on the app, guys can scan at home and eliminate any further frustration and finally find the right sizes. In fact, every customer who gets scanned will have an easier fit experience, whether they're shopping in-store or online."

In other personalization efforts, DXL has been building on an existing partnership with Bluecore to combine disparate marketing capabilities including identification, customer data management, audience building and segmentation, campaign management and media integration.

DXL is seamlessly connecting shoppers’ online and offline experiences in an effort to increase shopper and customer identification, drive first-time and repeat conversion and reactivate lapsed buyers.

[READ MORE: Destination XL Group extends assortment with Untuckit]

Headquartered in Canton, Mass., DXL operates nearly 300 DXL Big + Tall retail and outlet stores and Casual Male XL retail and outlet stores across the U.S., as well as its e-commerce website and mobile app.

The Kroger Co. is joining the ranks of other companies in cutting back or ending remote work for its headquarters staff. 

The Cincinnati-based supermarket giant will require its main office employees to report to the office five days a week. The change will go into effect in January. The move back to the office will affect approximately 4,800 corporate office employees. 

“As we’ve sought to simplify our ways of working and strengthen our support for our store teams, we see that in-person collaboration helps us move faster, problem solve more quickly, and better align on our priorities,” said Tim Massa, executibve VP and chief associate experience officer, in a statement provided by Kroger to Chain Store Age sister brand Progressive Grocer.  “And, with our stores, manufacturing plants and distribution centers operating around the clock to serve our customers, we are updating the in-office expectations for our Store Support Center associates who support them.”

In late 2023, Kroger told its general office employees that they were expected to report to their respective offices three to four days per week beginning Feb. 5, 2024.

Amazon is making a major commitment to provide artificial intelligence and supercomputing services to U.S. federal agencies.

The online giant is publicly pledging to invest up to $50 billion to expand AI and supercomputing capabilities for U.S. government customers of its Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosted cloud subsidiary. This investment, set to break ground in 2026, is expected to add nearly 1.3 gigawatts of AI and supercomputing capacity across AWS Top Secret, AWS Secret, and AWS GovCloud (US) regions by building new data centers with advanced compute and networking technologies.

Federal agencies will gain expanded access to Amazon AI technologies including the Amazon Bedrock platform, AWS Claude generative AI foundation model, AWS Trainium AI chips, and infrastructure from its partnership with Nvidia. AWS supports more than 11,000 government agencies.

[READ MORE: Amazon dives deeper into generative AI with Nvidia integration]

"Our investment in purpose-built government AI and cloud infrastructure will fundamentally transform how federal agencies leverage supercomputing,” said AWS CEO Matt Garman. “We're giving agencies expanded access to advanced AI capabilities that will enable them to accelerate critical missions from cybersecurity to drug discovery. This investment removes the technology barriers that have held government back and further positions America to lead in the AI era."

Amazon also recently said it will invest at least $3 billion in Warren County, Mississippi, to build a new data center to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies. In June 2025, Amazon announced it intends to invest at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand its data center infrastructure in the state.

Amazon is following up on a multi-billion-dollar commitment to Mississippi data infrastructure with a new project.

The online giant plans to invest at least $3 billion in Warren County, Mississippi, to build a new data center to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies. This investment is expected to create at least 200 new jobs at the Amazon data center campus, plus support more than 300 additional full-time equivalent positions in the Warren County community overall. 

This commitment represents the largest private investment in Warren County's history and follows Amazon's 2024 $10 billion investment to build two data center complexes in Madison County, Miss. 

[READ MORE: Amazon investing $10 billion in Mississippi data centers]

The new data center campus will feature an energy-efficient design with custom-designed chips, servers, and network architecture, in an effort to expand cutting-edge technology in Mississippi.

"Amazon's $3 billion investment in Warren County will create lasting opportunities for Mississippi families and communities, building on our more-than-a-decade-long partnership with the Magnolia State," said David Zapolsky, Amazon's chief global affairs and legal officer. "This is what responsible growth looks like—bringing cutting-edge technology infrastructure to America while ensuring local communities benefit directly from that investment."

In June 2025, Amazon announced it intends to invest at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand its data center infrastructure in the state.

Between 2010 and 2024, Amazon invested $2.3 billion in the state of Mississippi, including five fulfillment and sortation centers, four delivery stations, five solar farms, a wind farm, and a Whole Foods Market location.