Convenience Stores

Deborah Butler grew up in a college town. More importantly, she watched her family grow one store into a mega-retail-complex in Gainesville, Florida, that keeps on growing. The University of Florida has been very, very good to Butler and her family, and Butler has lots to say about the symbiotic relationship of higher education and retail.  

Online retailing is changing the game for pet parents.   Specifically, 40% of pet owners are opting to buy pet products online, up from 37% the previous year, and notably higher than results from 2014, according to U.S. Pet Market Outlook, 2017-2018. The report, from research firm Packaged Facts, highlights mergers and acquisitions, retail channel trends, and pet owner demographics and spending habits.  

There is a good chance that the shopping center as its exists today will look completely different 10 years from now.   

Lolli & Pops has entered into a partnership to grow its store portfolio.

The retailer, which specializes in high-end sweets and confectionary treats, is teaming up with retail real estate company GGP Inc. to open 30 new locations.  

Rascall Flats will be appearing in an extended engagement, band members hope, in Gainesville, Florida.   The famed country band chose Celebration Pointe, an under-development town center heavy on dining and entertainment options, as the site for one of the first Rascall Flatts Bar & Grills The very first is due to open in Cleveland, with Los Angeles and Connecticut to follow.  

Those crazy actin’ and burger-flippin’ Wahlbergs Mark and Donny, along with brother Paul and other family members, have opened at Grand Bazaar Shops on the Las Vegas Strip.   The new center located on Bally’s doorstep and across from the Bellagio picked the busiest intersection Vegas to place a culinary assemblage of the hottest new names in casual dining that are beginning to spread to malls and open-air centers nationwide.  

Although Walmart is an old-school retailer, it is not afraid to learn new tricks and to shift its thinking. This youthful and innovative approach has helped it deliver another solid set of results in a highly competitive market.  

Meijer is expanding its already considerable footprint in its home state of Michigan.    Meijer on Thursday opened its first locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula area, in Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie. The 192,000-sq.-ft.-supercenters, built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, are the latest in a $375 million investment this year that includes the construction of seven new Meijer supercenters and remodel projects for 22 additional stores in Indianapolis, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.