Convenience Stores

Houston -- United Commercial Realty Houston has announced three new leases for Houston-area centers:

• Goody Goody Liquor will open a third Houston-area location at Copperfield Village Shopping Center this fall.

• Pink’s Pizza has signed a deal for its fifth area location at the Cougar Den Plaza adjacent to the University of Houston’s central campus.

• Affinity Veterinary will open a clinic at a center located at 19450 Katy Freeway in Houston.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin’ Donuts provided highlights of its new store design, the brand's first in nearly seven years. The new layout and contemporary look maintains the brand's focus on helping people get in and get on their way, while incorporating new features to create a warm environment for guests who seek a longer, more relaxed visit.  Inviting seating areas include updated furniture and lighting, as well as convenient electrical outlets and bar top areas for smartphones and computers.

Cincinnati -- Retail loyalty programs have seen some impressive growth since 2011, according to results of the latest Colloquy Loyalty Census. In 2013, department stores achieved 70% growth in loyalty program memberships since the 2011 Colloquy Census, far surpassing the 26.7% rate of growth in loyalty programs across all sectors tabulated in the 2013 census. The number of department store loyalty memberships is 193.9 million.

Virginia Beach, Va. -- Divaris Real Estate has leased three retail spaces at shopping centers in Hampton and Virginia Beach.

Bank of America renewed its 6,000–sq.-ft. lease in Willow Oaks Village Square in Hampton.

Bruegger’s Bagels leased 2,400 sq. ft. in Southgate Commons in Virginia Beach. Also in Southgate Commons, Anthony Vince Nail Spa has taken 2,597 sq. ft.

A member of Realty Resources and the Virginia affiliate for The CORE Network, DRE represented the landlords in these transactions.

Calabasas, Calif. -- Broader regional economic growth and improved consumer and retailer finances bode well for retail real estate investments in well-located properties, according to “The Retail Outlook” from Marcus & Millichap Research Services’ second quarter 2013 mid-year outlook for the national retail market and U.S. economy.

Walnut Creek, Calif. – A new study from RSR Research concludes that retailers offering multiple selling channels connect more with consumers and are more profitable than retailers operating a single channel. Virtually every cross-channel selling tactic is being employed by retailers more this year than in 2012, with particularly strong growth in mobile.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in May 2012 vs. May 2013 and noticed some common overall trends across top retail chains. While looking at the data in May 2012 compared to May 2013, we see interesting changes that came from Toys "R" Us. Their circular suggests a switch in advertising strategy. Their ad blocks per page decreased 10% while ad blocks per circular increased 79.1%. Also, the total number of circular pages increased by 44.4%.

Fairfield, Calif. -- A Fuddruckers franchisee has acquired a 14,500-sq.-ft. property on the ring road of Solano Mall in Fairfield, Calif., according to Transwestern, the brokerage that represented the franchisee.

A Chick-fil-A restaurant attached to the property will continue to operate without change.