Department Store

Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento released its annual sales report this week and verified the fact that not all traditional malls are on the endangered list.   The 1,112,000-sq.-ft. property, owned by Arden Fair Associates and managed by Macerich, showed consistent month to month growth through 2016, capped by a 10% year-over-year sales increase in December, according to the accounting.  

Just days after it named its first-ever female CEO, Barneys is devoting the window displays at its uptown and downtown Manhattan flagships to an initiative celebrating women’s empowerment.   The windows are part of a new campaign launched by the Barneys New York Foundation, the charitable arm of the luxury specialty retailer. Entitled “We Will Be,” the initiative will run through the end of February to coincide with New York Fashion Week.   

Off-price giant TJX Cos. stands to gain traffic from the planned shutterings of select Macy’s and Kmart stores this year.    A study by Foursquare indicates that T.J. Maxx will gain traffic from Kmart store closings, while Marshalls will benefit from Macy’s closings, reported Boston Business Journal. Both banners are owned by TJX Cos.  

Some 100 locals from tony Southampton, New York, gathered outside Town Hall yesterday to show their support for the building of a grocery-anchored center in the Tuckahoe neighborhood, according to Newsday.   Demonstrators wearing “Yes Tuckahoe Shopping Center” T-shirts argued that the King Kullen supermarket proposed for the project would give them easier access to affordable groceries.  

Warby Parker is making a big commitment to brick-and-mortar.    The hip eyewear retailer plans to open at least 25 stores this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.   The new locations, planned for Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities, are expected to bring Warby Parker’s total store count to about 70 by year end.    The stores will range in size and include freestanding as well as mall locations, the report said. 

Apple is going really big in Manhattan.   The retailer is expanding its flagship at the General Motors building on Fifth Avenue from its current 32,000-sq.-ft. to over 77,000 sq. ft. The Apple space is renowned for the glass cube located on the street level.    While the store is undergoing the expansion, Apple has temporarily moved into a space in the building that was formerly occupied by FAO Schwarz.     

Dick’s Sporting Goods will be relocating one of its stores in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metro to space formerly inhabited by Sears at PREIT’s Capital City Mall.  

The largest proposed mall and entertainment center in North America  has been granted its first approval.    The comphrehensive master plan of the massive,  6.2 million-sq.-ft.  American Dream Miami project won preliminary approval from the Miami-Dade County Commission, reported The Read Deal.