eCommerce

New store formats loom large in Starbucks Corp.’s long-term strategy.   The coffee giant on Monday announced that Cliff Burrows, who has headed up Starbucks' Americas business for eight years, will lead a new group within the company called Siren Retail. In the role, Burrows will oversee the global expansion of the chain’s new Roastery concept, as well as the development of the upscale Starbucks Reserve stores. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/coffee-giant-two-new-store-expansion-moves  

A brand known for its low, low prices and high volume has opened its fifth U.S. store.   Primark has opened at PREIT’s Willow Grove Park Mall in the Philadelphia suburb of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. This is the second Primark location in the Philadelphia region. The store occupies 58,300 sq. ft. of space previously occupied by Sears on the second and third floors of the southwest side of the mall.  It features 59 fitting rooms and 47 registers, recharge areas, as well as a fashion "trend room.”  

Some three years after he returned to save J.C. Penney, industry veteran Myron E. (Mike) Ullman will retire from the company on Aug. 1.    Ullman is passing the reins of chairman of Penney’s board of directors to current CEO Marvin R. Ellison. The succession is in accordance with a transition plan the company outlined in 2014.  

Forrester Research has identified the retailers with the most and least satisfactory experience, and a very prominent name scored poorly.  

Central Florida developer Butler Enterprises named Joey Mandese its director of development. He will oversee all elements — from design through construction--of the redevelopment of Butler Town Center, a Main Street-style, mixed-use complex going up in Gainesville.   Formerly the owner of a construction business in Gainesville, Mandese studied architecture for two years before earning a degree in building construction and the University of Florida.   

Marla and Barry Beck, Founders of Bluemercury, open 100th store (Photo: Business Wire)   Bluemercury is testing a larger format space.    The specialty beauty products and spa retailer announced the opening of its 100th store, in Savannah, Georgia.     

Photo: Adam Ketcheson, VP marketing and business-to-consumer   A company named after the first reptile to develop the feather for flight is expanding its store portfolio.    Arc’teryx Equipment, a manufacturer and retailer of high-performance outdoor apparel and equipment, has opened a 2,300-sq.-ft. flagship in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. It is the company’s seventh fully-owned retail store in North America, with two more locations to open by yearend. 

Amazon.com is continuing its rapid pace of distribution infrastructure expansion with a planned new center in Houston.   The 855,000-sq.-ft. fulfillment center will employ more than 1,000 full-time workers. Employees will pick, pack and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and toys.