eCommerce

New York City -- Forever 21’s massive Times Square flagship, a shop that sells ice cream made to order and frozen with liquid nitrogen, and a new beauty-and-wellness concept in Hong Kong are on a list of the hottest new stores around the globe.

The list comes from the folks behind the cutting-edge, London-based retail consultancy echochamber.com:

Columbus, Ohio -- Kantar Retail said Thursday that same-store sales got a big lift to 6% growth in November from a strong promotional environment, as well as from an easy year-ago comparison period and shifting shopper spending intentions.

The sales-weighted composite for the 30 retailers reporting -- most of them apparel retailers -- was better than the 1.7% same-store sales gain last month and the 0.9% gain in November of 2009 for the same measure. (The calculations don’t include Walmart, which stopped reporting monthly results in April 2009.)

Purchase, N.Y. -- MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report, released Thursday, showed that sales in most retail categories continued to gain momentum over an already strong October showing.

Year-over-year total apparel sales in November saw a 9.6% increase, the largest year-over-year growth in 2010 for that sector following the previous record in October. Total apparel has recorded eight out of 11 months of year-over-year gains so far in 2010. In November, all of the sub-sectors posted year-over-year growth.

Raleigh, N.C. -- Charlotte, N.C.-based Crosland announced that several new tenants will open at The Shoppes at Oberlin Court mixed-use development in Raleigh, N.C.

Gigi's Cupcakes is slated to open a 1,579-sq.-ft. location in December, Edible Arrangements will open a 1,300-sq.-ft. store, also in December, and Oberlin Nails & Spa has opened a 1,198-sq.-ft. salon.

Tucson, Ariz. -- Commercial Retail Advisors said Tuesday that water purification retailer Water Mart has signed a lease for a new store in Orange Grove Village, in Tucson, Ariz.

The retailer is relocating from its current site in the local Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market Center to the new 1,200-sq.-ft. space.

The new store is slated to open in mid-December.

Wilmington, Del. -- Philadelphia-based Michael Salove Co., an X Team partner, said Tuesday it has completed a lease transaction with Aarron’s Furniture Rentals at Christina Crossing, located in Wilmington, Del.

Aarron’s will occupy 6,705 sq. ft. and is slated to open March 2011. Existing tenants include Shop Rite, Wine & Spirits, Cricket Wireless, Hibachi Sushi and Supreme Buffet.