Convenience Stores

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — New research from Nielsen shows consumers will be practical and focused on value during the upcoming holiday season, which bodes well for Target as one on the nation’s leading toy retailers and top destination for gift givers.

New York City -- A KFC restaurant in Indianapolis has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the state's first LEED-certified retail establishment.

Elkridge, Md. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said that it has leased retail space in Elkridge, Md., at Elkridge Corners shopping center to Green Valley Markets. 

A Baltimore-based grocery wholesaler/retailer founded in 1915, B. Green & Company is opening its third retail location and its first new full-service neighborhood supermarket concept Green Valley Markets in a 39,571-sq.-ft. space. Interior and exterior store improvements will begin this month. The store opening date is still to be finalized.

Orlando, Fla. -- Crossman & Co. said Friday it has negotiated three lease agreements totaling 4,955 sq. ft. at shopping centers in Largo and Marco Island, Fla.

Sage’s West Bay Bistro leased 2,023 sq. ft. for five years at Pinellas Shopping Center, in Largo. At the West Bay Village Town Centre, in Largo, La Chic salon and spa leased 1,632 sq. ft. for three years. And, Harrison negotiated a new lease at the Shops of Marco, in Marco Island, along with Sapphire Dry Cleaners for 1,300 sq. ft.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- A Friday report by Wall Street Journal said that Sears Holdings Corp. is in an active push to lease surplus space to other retailers. Its real estate division has listed on its website some 4,000 of its namesake and Kmart stores that have space for other merchants or retail operations to lease.

In the December 2007 issue of Chain Store Age, I wrote about an historic structure on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, long-occupied by House of Bultman Funeral Home that was undergoing an extensive redevelopment to accommodate the first Borders bookstore in Orleans Parish.

Columbia, S.C. -- Shopping center owner Edens & Avant said Wednesday that an expanded new Publix will open Sept. 2012 at Sunshine Square retail center in Boynton Beach, Fla.

The centerpiece of the multi-million dollar redevelopment, the new 54,000-sq.-ft. Publix will be more integrated into the overall center, one aspect of a larger plan to improve shopper circulation that also includes enhanced vehicular and pedestrian access.

The existing Publix store is scheduled to close Sept. 24.

NEW YORK — RadioShack, which already offers the Amazon Kindle, has expanded its e-reader offerings with the addition of the Nook from Barnes & Noble. The company announced Wednesday that it will offer Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reading devices and related accessories to more than 3,000 RadioShack stores nationwide and online at radioshack.com, beginning Oct. 3. 

Former Walmart chief information officer and current HP executive Linda Dillman was among a group of 10 executives honored earlier this week as the inaugural class diversity difference-makers was inducted into the Network of Executive Women CPG Retail Diversity Hall of Fame. The inductees received the William J. Grize Award named after the late president and CEO of Ahold USA whose early support of NEW is credited with jumpstarting the organization, which now includes nearly 5,000 members and 400 companies. Grize died in January 2010 at the age of 63 after a short illness.

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corp., a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, announced it has signed a new long-term agreement to provide private label and co-branded credit-card services for Marathon Petroleum Corp., Findlay, Ohio.