Retail

Niwot, Colo. -- Crocs Inc. has opened its first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified store, in Syracuse, N.Y. As detailed in Crocs’ new 2013 sustainability report, the store is certified at the LEED Silver level and features a high-efficiency LED lighting system and low-VOC and sustainable building materials.

Walnut Creek, Calif. — John Cumbelich & Associates, a San Francisco Bay Area-based commercial real estate firm, has announced the sale of 1280 Willow Pass, a 73,167-sq.-ft. shopping center in Concord, Calif.

X Team International partner, John Cumbelich & Associates, represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction, which attracted multiple offers.

Covington, La. — Stirling Properties has announced the development of a new full-service Walgreens drug store in Metairie, La., in the Barlon Plaza Shopping Center. The new store will be a ground-up relocation of an existing Walgreens currently within the center.

At 14,000 sq. ft., the larger store will feature a drive thru window and full-service pharmacy.

Naples, Fla. - Naples Soap Company has chosen Opterus’ Store Ops Center as its communications and task management solution. Opterus’ Store Ops-Center is a cloud solution designed specifically for retail to manage and execute store tasks and communications.

The solution measures and increases operational compliance, communicates corporate policy, manages day-to-day objectives and tasks, and handles issues between corporate office and store locations

Washington, D.C. -- The average American celebrating the Easter holiday in 2014 will spend an average of $137.46 on apparel, food, candy, gifts and more. According to the National Retail Federation’s Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, this is slightly less than the $145.13 spent last year.

Foster City, Calif. - American households with teens are reining in prom spending in 2014. According to a new survey of 4,000 consumers by Visa, the American average household will spend $978 in 2014 on the prom.

That's down more than 14% from the average $1,139 families spent on items including attire, limousine rental, tickets, and dinner in 2013. The sharp decrease follows three years of steady increases. By way of comparison, Canadian households will spend about 25% less than American households, at $723.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart, a pioneer in the use of LED lighting in its freezer cases and parking lots, is now extending its use of LEDs to the sales floor. The retailer plans to install energy-efficient LED ceiling lighting from GE in its new supercenters in the United States, along with stores in Asia, Latin America, and the United Kingdom.

San Jose, Calif. -- VeriFone Systems Inc. plans to release the VX 690, a handheld EMV-capable payment terminal featuring Bluetooth, 3G radio and Wi-Fi connectivity for fast transactions and flexible payment capabilities, in late 2014. The terminal is PCI PTS 3.0 compliant and features built-in security protection that includes end-to-end encryption to protect data at every point of the transaction.