Department Store

Birmingham, Mich. – A new 49,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use development including an entire floor of retail space is slated to open in downtown Birmingham, Michigan, in third quarter 2015. According to the Macomb Daily News, the development, called “The Forefront,” will be located in the Principal shopping district and feature retail stores on the first floor and 11 luxury condos on the second and third floors.

The development will be built on the site of an existing building, which will be demolished.
 

New York -- The heat is on — in more ways than one. While Target’s search for a new chief executive has been much in the news, the discounter is not the only big retailer on the hunt for a chief executive. Here’s a brief review (all dates are 2014 except where noted):

Off-price department store retailer Gordmans Stores is still without a full-time CEO, but the retailer did just fill two key marketing and e-commerce positions.

The Omaha-based apparel and home decor retailer named Amy Starr Myers to the role of SVP of marketing and Stacey Townsend was named vp and general manager of e-commerce to launch Gordman’s online sales effort.

Dublin, Calif. – Ross Dress for Less will open one new store in Las Vegas and two new stores in Florida on July 19. The new stores are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.

The Florida stores will be located in Pier Park North in Panama City Beach and Royal Gardens Plaza in Hialeah Garden. They will give Ross a total of 140 stores in Florida.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open three new stores in Indiana on July 19. The stores include Waterford Park South Shopping Center in Clarksville, Shops on Main in Schererville, and Erskine Village in South Bend.  
    
These new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.

New York -- A physical store presence is key to most retailers for their online growth strategy, according to a new report by Moody’s Investor Services. Based on existing data, Moody’s estimate online sales as a percent of total retail sales are just 6% today, and will increase to 7.1% by 2016, and potentially reach a double-digit (mid-teens) share of the total retail sales pie in about five years.

San Jose, Calif. - EBay and U.K. general merchandise retailer Argos have entered an agreement to extend their offering of Click & Collect services via Argos stores. This extension will enable shoppers to select products from a much wider range of EBay sellers for collection from about 650 Argos stores.