Apparel

The recent vote by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union will have the biggest retail impact on companies that have high U.K. exposure, including U.S. off-price giant TJX Cos., MarketWatch reported.    Swedish fast-fashion giant H&M is also among the retailers to be most impacted. The United Kingdom is the company’s third largest market, behind Germany and the United States. 

Toms Shoes is expanding its fledgling store portfolio, and will open a location at Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, in time for holiday shoppers.   Founded in 2006, Toms matches every shoe purchase with a donation to a child in need, and gives glasses, medical treatment and/or sight-saving surgery with each purchase of eyewear.  

Restructuring costs helped increase fourth quarter net loss at Barnes & Noble Education Inc. to $2.8 million from $300,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.   Not all the fourth quarter fiscal news was negative, however. Total sales rose 8% to $294.8 million from $274 million, aided by a 4.5% increase in same-store sales.  

Eight new tenants have opened their doors at Silicon Valley’s Santana Row, a 1.7 million sq.-ft. multi-use property that includes a hotel and office and residential space.    Suitsupply, a European import, assumes the highest profile of the newcomers with a 4,425 sq.-ft. space. Jewelry retailer Kendra Scott and body and hair care specialist Aesop will inhabit spaces of just over 1,000 sq. ft.  

Macerich’s new outdoor shopping complement to Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, N.Y., just got three steps closer to a full house for its planned grand opening this fall. 24-Hour Fitness, Sonic Drive-In, and Ulta Beauty have all committed to space at Green Acres Commons, a 335,000-sq.-ft. retail center.  

Japanese specialty apparel retailer Uniqlo is expanding its U.S. presence into the Southeast, and is also expanding its relationship with Disney.    The company will open a two-level, 25,000-sq.-ft. store on July 15 in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It will be Uniqlo’s first location in the Southeast.   

Retail store expansion could get a boost from lower rents in the next 12 months as real estate investment trusts react to volatility in global financial markets, according to Pacific Investment Management Co.   In a report titled, “U.S. Real Estate: A Storm Is Brewing,” PIMCO portfolio managers John Murray and Anthony Clarke forecasted a drop of as much as 5% in commercial real estate prices due to a confluence of factors including public market volatility, tightened regulations, and uncertain foreign capital flows.

Men’s apparel retailer Destination XL Group Inc. (DXL) is trying to make sure customers are satisfied at the very beginning of the fulfillment process.   DXL is utilizing the EZ-Ship Scan/Pack solution from supply chain management technology provider NGC Software. DXL will use EZ-Ship to reduce chargebacks and packing errors by validating the contents of each carton and shipment sent from its factories.