Footwear

Anthropologie’ s experiential retailing concept takes center stage under its new store banner, Anthropologie & Co., with the first-ever location now open in Walnut Creek, Calif.   The 30,000-sq.-ft. store is a visual treat, and features fully decorated showrooms, filled to the brim with custom furniture.   

It’s shaping up as a busy fall for Ross Stores.   The retailer is opening 25 Ross Dress for Less ("Ross") stores and nine dd's Discounts stores across 16 different states in September and October.   The new locations round out the company's expansion plans to add approximately 90 locations in 2016.  

Century 21 Department Store is set to open its doors on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn.   The store, the off-price retailer’s 11th location, will occupy four floors and 140,000 sq. ft. at City Point, a 1.8 million-sq.-ft. retail, residential and office space under development. It officially opens on Oct. 11.   

The North Face is trying on a new store format.   The retailer has opened a pop-up in San Francisco aimed at the city explorer.   The temporary store, in the city’s Jackson Square neighborhood, will focus exclusively on the brand’s premium streetwear merchandise. (A similar space will be featured in the retailer’s new flagship, scheduled to open on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in late October.)  

Raceways appear to be the newest fertile ground for retail. International Speedway Corporation recently started construction at One Daytona, a mixed-use project across from Daytona International Speedway, and now Tanger Outlets has started up a new center a lap away from Texas Motor Speedway.  

Mid-America Real Estate reported it has arranged the sale of the Fairlane Meadows Shopping Center in Dearborn, Michigan, to Time Equities for $20.6 million. The seller was Ramco-Gershenson Property Trust.   The 157,225-sq.-ft. center is situated within a residential development of the same name. The store roster includes Best Buy, Citi Trends, David’s Bridal, Five Below, and Dollar Tree. It is shadow-anchored by Target and Burlington Coat Factory.  

VF. Corp., whose brands include The North Face, Timberland and Nautica, will have a new chief executive come January.   The company announced that president and COO Steven E. Rendle will become CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Rendle, 57, will succeed Eric C. Wiseman, who will continue to serve as executive chairman and work with Rendle to ensure a successful transition.    Rendle has more than 30 years of experience in the specialty outdoor and action sports industry, 16 of which have been with VF.

UGG is driving a new level of engagement with loyal shoppers.   Starting today, shoppers nationwide are invited to join UGG Rewards, a loyalty program that awards shoppers with points for every purchase. The program, which was launched as a pilot among a limited customer base between September 2015 and June 2016, is now available to shoppers in-store and online throughout the United States.  

Physical stores still play a crucial role in holiday shopping.    That’s one of the major themes of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual holiday forecast, which emphasizes that, more than ever before, shoppers will expect an omnichannel experience this season. The report predicts 3.3% year-over-year growth sales at physical stores this holiday season (compared to 2.2% increase in 2015). Including online sales for physical retailers, ICSC predicts sales will rise 3.5%.     

Construction is underway at a planned 185,000-sq.-ft. center that will bring a top-level roster of value retailers to the western Kentucky town of Hopkinsville. Thompson Thrift is the developer.   Hopkinsville Town Center, located just north of Clarksville on the Tennessee border, will count Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Ulta, Burke’s Outlet, Hibbett Sporting Goods, and Rack Room Shoes among its tenants when it opens in late 2017 or early 2018.