Mass Merchant

Consumer expectations are increasing and retailers are keeping up—but their trading partners are lagging.

This is one of the key takeaways from the fourth annual industry benchmark survey by Retail Systems Research (RSR) commissioned by SPS Commerce. The goal of the survey was to examine the internal and external forces driving today’s retail ecosystem, an industry that has evolved more in the past decade than in the past century. That evolution continues this year, with three critical drivers at the forefront:

Mall owner Westfield Corp. has acquired two buildings owned by Macy’s at Westfield Mission Valley mall in San Diego for approximately $16.5 million.

Included in the sale were a full-line Macy’s department store and a nearby — and much smaller — building that houses a restaurant.

The purchase comes as the retailer remains under pressure from an activist investor to sell off full or partial stakes in some of its real estate.

Persistence has paid off at Ingles Market for Jim Lanning who was elevated to the role of CEO after joining the $3.8 billion supermarket chain 41 years earlier.

Asheville, NC.-based Ingles Markets named Lanning, 56, to the role of CEO, filling a position previously held by company Chairman Robert P. Ingle, II. Lanning will retain his position as president while Ingle, 47, will continue to serve as chairman and continue his day-to-day active operational role in the executive leadership of the company, according to a statement.

Kohl’s, The Home Depot and Sears Holdings have all been honored with 2016 Energy Star Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Awards from the Environmental Protection Agency for leadership in sustainability efforts.

KOHL’S: Kohl’s was recognized for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. It is the fifth consecutive year that the retailer has been recognized with the Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award.

Online delivery service Instacart is launching its first expansion of 2016 – and it’s a big one.
 
Instacart is now offering deliveries in as little as one hour from Whole Foods Market, Gelson’s Market, Stater Bros. Markets, Ralphs, Smart & Final, Costco (no membership needed), Petco, and H Mart to residents of Orange County, California. Whole Foods will offer delivery via Instacart at prices that are the same as shoppers find in-stores.
 

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store in Woodbridge, Virginia, on March 5.

The 25,000=sq.-ft. store is located in Prince William Square, on the northwest corner of Smoketown Road and Gideon Drive, 20 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

The opening is part of Ross’ 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.

An underground shopping arcade with cool stores and hip eateries is coming to one of the busiest subway stations in New York City.

TurnStyle is set to open in mid-April, on the subway concourse at the 59th Street Columbus Circle subway station in Manhattan. The 30,000-sq.-ft. center, the first major privatization of a New York subway station, is located along both sides of the 325-ft. long passageway from Eighth Avenue and 57th Street to the subway platforms at 59th Street-Columbus Circle. (The passageway is free to pedestrians since it is not in the fare zone.)

The off-price division of Nordstrom plans to open a new store in the nation’s capital, and another in Texas.

Nordstrom Rack will open at District Center in the heart of Washington, D.C. The approximately 37,000 sq.-ft., two-level store, is scheduled to open in fall 2016, will be the retailer's thirteenth Nordstrom Rack in Washington, D.C./Baltimore area having first opened in the area at Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, Virginia in 1990.