Department Store

Charlotte, N.C. – Nothing succeeds like success, and 300-plus-store department store chain Belk Inc. took a previously successful TV holiday campaign and modernized it for the omnichannel era, with impressive results.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc.’s fourth-quarter net income fell a lower-than-expected 4.9% to $255 million, down from $268 million a year earlier, even as its same-store sales topped expectations. The profit decline came amid higher costs, including those related to tech upgrades and its acquisition of Trunk Club, and increased promotions at Nordstrom Rack.  

Are you one of America's Top Developers, Acquirers or Third-Party Managers? Chain Store Age will release the results of the 26th Annual Top Developers and Fastest-Growing Acquirers and 3P Managers in the May 2015 issue distributed at the RECon show in Las Vegas.

The three surveys measure retail and shopping center space developed, acquired and contracted for management/leasing during the 2014 calendar year.  The top five or six companies in each category (by square footage) will be ranked in the May issue. In short:  
 

Milwaukee -- Contracts are finalized and on-site work will soon begin on The Corners of Brookfield, a new 750,000-sq.-ft. premier lifestyle center that will be located on approximately 19 acres of land bounded by West Bluemound Road, North Barker Road and I-94 near Milwaukee.

The final development agreement has been signed with the Town of Brookfield, demolition of the vacant Menards building on The Corners project site will begin in the coming weeks and a formal groundbreaking is planned for spring 2015.

New York - Retail sales in the U.S. will reach $4.87 trillion for the full year 2015. According to EMarketer analysis, this represents a 4% increase from 2014.

U.S. retail e-commerce sales will total approximately $350 billion in 2015, up 14% from $305.7 billion the prior year. Despite rapid growth, retail ecommerce will still account for just 7% of total retail sales in the U.S. during the current year, EMarketer estimates.

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners, a leading commercial real estate, advisory and investment group, has been retained by C. Wonder to manage the sale of the three retail store leases and several office locations in New York City and Long Island, following the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Boston – Nail and beauty care chain MiniLuxe, which operates eight stores in the Boston area, is coming to North Texas. MinLuxe has opened the first of 10 stores planned for North Texas in the West Village shopping center in Dallas.

The investor group behind MiniLuxe also backs Chipotle, with Silverado Interests' founding partners Rick and Dan Slaven also participating.
 

By Kirsten Early, Partner and Director of Retail, SRSA Commercial Real Estate