Apparel

Jacksonville, Fla. - Stein Mart is opening 11 new stores this year as part of the company's accelerated store growth that began in 2014. The new stores include the company's March opening of the first-ever San Francisco Bay area location in Cupertino, California, and 10 additional stores opening in the fall.

This is an increase from the company's earlier estimate of 10 new stores for 2015 announced in November. In 2014, Stein Mart opened nine new stores.

Fort Myers, Fla. – Chico’s FAS Inc. announced plans to open 40 new stores and spend $30 million rolling out new POS systems, including mobile technology, in fiscal 2015. But the retailer also said it would shutter 120 existing locations over the next two years to improve its overall store fleet productivity and slash jobs. The closings are expected to ultimately result in expense savings of approximately $55.2 million upon completion.

Pleasant Prairie, Wis. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of The Plaza at Prairie Ridge located in Pleasant Prairie (Kenosha County), Wisconsin. The 9,035-sq.-ft. three-tenant center was purchased by Mark Cosenza, VP of Oak Brook, Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc. The seller was Milwaukee-based Evo Properties, LLC.
 

Madison, Wis. -- Two locally owned businesses – Mes Amies and Waxing the City – will join the tenant lineup as part of the redevelopment of Hilldale shopping center, located in Madison, Wisconsin.

Women’s apparel boutique Mes Amies will open this summer, a relocation from Chicago. And waxing and personal care studio Waxing the City will make its Wisconsin debut with the Hilldale store, also slated to open summer 2015.  

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., will open a new store in north Jacksonville, Florida.  The opening is slated for Feb. 28.

The new store is located in Highland Square at Dunn Avenue and Monaco Drive off Interstate 95. Florida is the retailer’s third largest state with a total of 25 stores. Including this new location, dd’s Discounts will operate over 150 locations in 15 states.
 

Lakeland, Fla. -- Retail Solutions Advisors (RSA) has been selected as the exclusive leasing representative for Crosswinds, a 139,037-sq.-ft. community shopping center near Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida.  

Current anchors include Marshall’s, Michael’s and Bed Bath and Beyond.
 
The property is owned by Crosswinds St Pete, LLC, who will continue to manage the center.

Off-price department store operator Steinmart is looking to capitalize on favorable business trends this year with an aggressive expansion plan that will see the company add 11 new stores.

The Jacksonville, Fl.,-based operator of 270 stores had indicated last fall it would open 10 new stores this year, but after reporting better than expected sales results the growth target was increased by one location. Steinmart opened nine new stores last year as part of a renewed commitment to physical expansion.

Apparently a lot of consumers shopped for lingerie and bath products this holiday season, if the profits at L Brands Inc. are any indication.

The Columbus, Ohio-based parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works reported that it earned $564.8 million, or $1.89 a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $489.6 million, or $1.65 a share, a year earlier. Net sales rose 7% to $4.07 billion and same store sales rose 6%.

Stronger demand for clothing and accessories during the holiday season helped Kohl's Corp. post an increase in same store sales for the fourth quarter after five straight quarters of decline.   The retailer reported that same store sales rose 3.7% for the fourth quarter. Net income rose 10.5% to $369 million, or $1.83 per share, while net sales increased 4% to $6.34 billion. Analysts on an average had expected earnings of $1.80 per share and revenue of $6.33 billion.  

Stronger traffic and an increase in the size of the average basket are among the reasons Ross Stores’ CFO cited for the company's robust fourth quarter performance.