Department Store

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When Walmart announced in January that it planned to close 269 stores this year (154 locations in the U.S.), there was a good deal of chatter out there comparing the planned closures to a Macy’s announcement just over a week earlier revealing the upcoming closure of 40 stores and a restructuring plan that would eliminate more than 4,500 jobs.

Minneapolis -- Mid-America Real Estate announced five new retail leases recently signed on behalf of retailers. Mid-America Tenant Representation team represented the tenants in the following transactions, listed below in order of transaction size.

St. Louis Park, Minnesota (Hennepin County) – J. Crew Factory signed a 6,500 sq. ft. lease at Shoppes at Knollwood located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The 456,554-sq.-ft. center is anchored by Kohl’s and Nordstrom Rack.

Strength in the furniture and mattress category during the fourth quarter wasn’t enough to help Conn’s avert same-store sales decline with each of the company’s other merchandise classifications reporting weakness.

Conn’s said its total sales for January increased 7.9% to $101 million and for the three months ended Jan. 31, sales increased 7.4% to $376.5 million. The gains were the result on news stores as same stores sales at the specialty retailer of furniture, mattresses, home appliances and consumer electronics declined 2.3%.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced plans to add home retailer West Elm at Friendly Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, as part of a 12,700-sq.-ft. expansion project for the center. West Elm will occupy approximately 9,000 sq. ft. of the total expansion, which also includes Pieology Pizzeria and an additional soon-to-be-named retailer.

The new development will be located between Anthropologie and Whole Foods. Construction on the space is currently underway, and both West Elm and Pieology are scheduled to open fall 2016.

Sak Off 5th's first location in New York City will feature a pop-up shop that appeals to the retailer's target market.

Saks announced that Gilt will open its first ever in-store shop at the Saks Off 5th store in New York. The pairing of these two brands in a physical space marks Gilt's entry into brick-and-mortar retail and demonstrates the company's plans to bring an all-channel shopping experience to Gilt customers.

Old Navy, the division that has been performing the best for Gap Inc. for years, suffered a serious sales slump in the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Gap Inc.’s net sales were $4.39 billion compared with $4.71 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Same-store sales at Gap Inc. were down 7% versus positive 2% last year. Same-store sales by global brand for the fourth quarter were as follows:

• Gap Global: negative 3% versus negative 6% last year

Nordstrom is launching a new national marketing campaign withprint, digital and video components as the retailer seeks to improve its connection with younger customers.

Pier 70, the extensive waterfront redevelopment project in San Francisco, has announced its first official tenant and it’s a big one.

Restoration Hardware will open a five-story, 60,000-sq.ft. gallery-store in the historic Bethlehem Steel building. The high-end home furnishings retailer, slated to open in 2017, will be a subtenant of Orton Development, which master-leased eight buildings along 20th Street that will comprise the core of Pier 70.