Retail

Hamilton, N.J. -- Discount optical retailer America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses has leased 4,500 sq. ft. at Hamilton Plaza in Hamilton Township, announced Levin Management, exclusive leasing and managing agent for the 175,000-sq.-ft. shopping center.

The lease signing brings the Mercer County retail destination to 100% occupancy.

San Francisco - PBteen opens its first Arizona-based PBteen store at Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 18. It will serve as a combined location with Pottery Barn Kids, and this will be the 18th PBteen location in the U.S.

Maywood, Calif. -- CBRE senior VP Philip D. Voorhees announced that he, Jimmy Slusher and the National Retail Investment Group – West (NRIG-West) team, along with CBRE’s managing director, Richard Rizika, completed the sale of Maywood Village Square, a 48,324-sq.-ft. convenience strip center located in Maywood, California. The center is anchored by O’Reilly Auto Parts and features Subway, U.S. Bank, Yoshinoya, Western Dental Services and a new Fitness 19 health club.

New Hyde Park, N.Y. - Kimco Realty Corp. has acquired a portfolio of 10 shopping centers from its joint venture with SEB Asset Management for $275.8 million, including $193.6 million of mortgage debt. Kimco, which previously held a 15% ownership interest in the properties, paid approximately $69.8 million for the remaining 85% equity interest held by SEB Asset Management, the group’s specialist real estate manager.

Uniqlo plans to open a store at Great Mall in Milpitas, California, on Sept. 12 — the first location to feature a 100% eco-friendly design, with LED lighting, greener materials and high-efficiency elements throughout.

The new store will also include specialty shopping vignettes that create a store-within-a-store feel in the women and children’s departments. In-store display materials will also include updated digital screens.

Seattle - Starbucks Coffee Co. is reportedly planning to pilot mobile ordering in an undisclosed U.S. geographic location before the end of 2014. According to Re/Code, the pilot will let consumers place orders through the Starbucks mobile app.

Starbucks definitely intends to roll out mobile ordering chain-wide at some point, and has created a cross-departmental team to work on issues such as how long a hot beverage can stay warm. The retailer expects the program to boost customer loyalty.

Genius Brands International, a global brand management company that develops “content with a purpose” for toddlers to tweens, continues to build its global licensing structure with the appointment of industry veteran Stone Newman to the newly created post of president, global consumer products.  

New York -- Spanish apparel giant Inditex, plans to have radio frequency identification technology in place in its nearly 2,000 Zara stores around the globe by 2016. The technology has already been installed at all of Zara's distribution centers and at more than 700 Zara stores.