Department Store

Not all department store retailers are closing stores.   Charlotte, North Carolina-based Belk said it plans to open three new stores, part of a nearly $40 million investment in store remodels, capital improvements and new store openings in 2017.  

Multi-brand and vertically integrated beauty stores are shaking up the beauty industry — and growing at a rapid rate.    With hundreds of new doors opening in various formats, cosmetics specialty and vertically integrated stores, such as Ulta, Sephora, Bluemercury, NYX, Kiko Milano, and e.l.f., have grown at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 19% over the past five years, according to a report by research and consulting firm Kline. Such stores now account for an estimated 20% of total beauty market sales. 

Sales per square foot are declining across the board. But some retailers continue to pull in hefty revenue.    The No. 1 retailer in terms of sales per square foot is Apple Inc., which does a staggering $5,546 per square foot, according to research provided by CoStar.    

Macy's and Sears are by no means the only department store companies with valuable real estate.    Activist investor Snow Capital Partners has built a position in Dillard's Inc. and is planning to push for changes at the retailer, including unlocking the value of its real estate portfolio, Bloomberg reported.  

The Bon-Ton Stores is speeding up how it restocks merchandise.   The department store chain is replacing its manual, paper-based restocking process with a radio frequency identification (RFID)-based system. The solution, from Zebra, enables store associates to fully restock merchandise displays in a fraction of the time — a move that increases productivity and enables associates to spend more time servicing shoppers.  

Nordstrom is offering a deal to potential equity partners willing to fund a buyout.   The group of Nordstrom Inc. family members seeking to take the luxury department store chain private is offering preferential terms to potential equity partners willing to fund the buyout, according to Reuters. The group involved in the negotiations are company co-presidents Blake W. Nordstrom, Peter E. Nordstrom, and Erik B. Nordstrom; president of stores James F. Nordstrom; chairman emeritus Bruce A. Nordstrom; and Anne E. Gittinger. 

While Build-A-Bear Workshop continues to navigate amid declining store traffic, the company continues to open new stores.   Build-A-Bear plans to reopen a location in the Southern California market at the end of September. The company recently closed a store operating in the Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, California.