Department Store

Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is going green for its first store in Lower Manhattan.

The retailer will open a 25,000-sq.-ft. store at Westfield World Trade Center, set to open in spring 2016. It will be H&M’s 17th location in New York City, and its first U.S. store to apply for LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification.

Despite a few hiccups with site availability, Cyber Week 2015 on the whole was a huge success for the retail industry and bodes well for the remainder of the holiday season.

According to data from Adobe, from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, consumers spent $11 billion online. This marked a 15% increase from Cyber Week in 2014 and represented 30% of a total $39.5 billion in November online sales. Adobe predicts consumers will spend $1 billion a day online every day from Dec. 1- Dec. 18.

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. -- Kimco Realty Corp. announced that it purchased Christown Spectrum power center in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona for $115.3 million. The property is an 850,000 sq. ft. center situated one mile east of Interstate 17 and lies adjacent to the second-busiest light rail station in Phoenix.

Strong sales at Maurices and Lane Bryant weren’t enough to lift Ascena in the first quarter, as the company reported a decrease in comps.

For the period ended Oct. 24, the company reported a net loss of 10 cents per diluted share compared to net income of 32 cents per diluted share in the same period of fiscal 2015. The company blamed the decrease on transaction costs related to the acquisition of Ann Inc., which closed during the first quarter fof fiscal 2016. Comps dropped 3% in the first quarter.

With all the attention focused on generally strong online holiday sales during “Cyber Week” (Nov. 23-29), it may be instructive to look at the experience of one major retailer.

Kohl’s has released an infographic summarizing what so far is a successful digital holiday shopping season. Among the facts and figures Kohl’s has released about the performance of Kohls.com during Cyber Week:

In-store sales declines over Black Friday weekend had many analysts buzzing about the future of brick and mortar. But an expert in store traffic cautioned that the declines should be taken with a grain of salt.

“It’s important to view the decrease in context,” said Bill Martin, founder, ShopperTrak.

Martin noted that where are several contributing factors, including fewer available store hours on Thanksgiving Day and a later Hanukah that is anticipated to push sales into December.

Bridgeport Landing Development, a subsidiary of The RCI Group announced that Connecticut’s first Bass Pro Shops has opened at Steelpointe Harbor located in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Steelpointe Harbor Bass Pro Shops is a 150,000 sq. ft. store featuring Uncle Bucks Fish Bowl and Grill restaurant, Black Widow Billiards™ parlor complete with two tournament pool tables, a bowling alley with 12 full lanes, an archery range and aquarium.

Nordstrom Rack, the off-price division of Nordstrom, continues its expansion, announcing two new upcoming locations.

The retailer plans to open a 28,000-sq.-ft. store at Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, Ill., in fall 2016. The property is owned by Macerich.