Apparel

Large-format experiential stores focus on customer experience, convenience

At a time when many retailers are cutting back on brick-and-mortar investments to focus on e-commerce, a few notable ones are taking the opposite approach. They are launching large-format experiential stores to immerse customers in the full brand experience and offer items in each product category, from couches to dresses.

With just over 50 stores, Quincy Mall is hardly the biggest regional center in the nation, but it’s a big deal in the rural Mississippi River town of Quincy, Illinois, just a skiff’s ride from Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. And it was big news in Quincy when the J.C. Penney in the Cullinan-owned property closed shop.  

Three different centers, three different owner/managers, three different recipes for shaping open-air centers to local tastes

Chris Ressa does not put a lot of stock in the word “experiential.” Though it’s become a companion to the word “retail” in the real estate industry, DLC Management Corp.’s senior VP of leasing finds it not up to the task of describing what’s too often missing at shopping venues.

Two big retail names, Dollar General and Abercrombie & Fitch, recently unveiled new store formats that differ dramatically from their traditional concepts. Here’s a look at their new initiatives:

Dollar General

One of the nation’s fastest-growing retailers is putting the focus on convenience, targeting a new demographic with a smaller-store concept called DGX.

Dollar General debuted the new format, which has 3,400 sq. ft. of selling space, in Nashville, Tenn. A second location is set to open in Raleigh, N.C.

Macerich, Simon, and Westfield have all signed on for a new service that accepts returns of online purchases at their malls as a way to win a bigger share of Web-shopper’s dollars at their properties.  

Macy’s has sold a fee-simple ground lease underlying The Shops on Lake Avenue in Pasadena that is shadow-anchored by one of its active stores. The sale to a private investor from San Diego was handled by Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors.   The ground lease does not include the Macy’s store, but does take in tenants including T.J.Maxx, Trader Joe’s, Ross Dress for Less, Williams-Sonoma, Talbot’s Jos. A Bank, and Orvis.  

JackThreads is the latest company seeking help to stay afloat.   The online men’s retailer has cut its staff down to a skeleton crew with mass layoffs over the past two weeks, and is on the hunt for a buyer, according to Fortune.   

Women’s apparel retailer J.Jill is returning to the public arena after more than a decade of private ownership.   The retailer on Monday said it has launched an initial public offering of 11.67 million shares. The IPO is expected to have a price range of between $14.00 and $16.00 per share.   J.Jill has been approved to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “JILL.”