Supermarket/Grocery

Feed and entertain them, and they will come
Photo: Steelblue There’s a reason that dining and entertainment destinations are the key success components at retail centers these days: They are e-commerce-proof, the two marketplace options that continue to draw traffic and post upward-trending numbers. Spending at restaurants has grown faster than any other retail category since the recession, according to the Commerce Department, pushing dining dollars past grocery dollars for the first time.
Chain Store Age announces SPECS/2017 Advisory Board
Chain Store Age announced the selection of the Advisory Board for SPECS/2017, the annual retail event for store innovation produced by CSA and attended by retail and food-service executives involved in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of stores and restaurants nationwide. Now in its 53rd year, SPECS will host its 2017 conference in Orlando, Florida, at the Gaylord Palms, March 12-14. The event will focus on what’s next, and what is shaping the future of retail.

New online tax legislation proposed

Various forms of online sales tax legislation have been introduced in Congress over the past 15 years but none have won passage. And now there is a new proposal.
Construction begins on long-awaited center in Fresno

The cranes have arrived at the 92-acre lot along Clovis Avenue in Fresno, California, to erect the parking garage at what will be Fancher Creek Town Center, and the locals couldn’t be happier. “I think it’s super. We need something. You have to catch the freeway and go up north to get to anything,” resident Diana Williams told KFSN news in Fresno this week.
Dollar General Q2 sales fall short

Dollar General Corp. reported lower-than-expected revenue for the second quarter amid increasing competition and reduced food stamp coverage. The company’s net income was $306.52 million, or $1.08 per share, in the quarter, compared to net income of $282.35 million, or $0.95 per share, in the year-ago period. Net sales increased 5.8% to $5.39 billion, compared to $5.10 billion last year.
Project Profiles

Los Gatos Village Square

Location: 15466 Los Gatos Boulevard, between California Highways 85 and 17 in Los Gatos, California

Size: 46,235 sq. ft.

Developer: Donahue Schriber Realty Group

Grocery anchor: Trader Joe’s

Key tenants: Pet Food Express, See’s Candies, The UPS Store, AAA Automobile Club, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill
Not enough of a good thing

With few new grocery centers being built, developers are upping the ante on existing ones

Pat Donahue, together with his late brother Dan and business partner Tom Schriber, has been in grocery-anchored shopping centers since the ’90s. That’s when Schriber calculated that the company’s long-term fortunes, which had rested on mall development up until then, would be better wagered on high-traffic “necessity-based” retail.

“At malls you get ’em three times a month.
holiday // planning

Get ready for a very competitive holiday season.
CommerceHub adds integration with Walmart Marketplace

CommerceHub, a distributed commerce network for retailers and brands, is expanding its existing partnership with Walmart, integrating directly with Walmart’s online third-party marketplace. Under the new agreement, CommerceHub’s network of approximately 9,500 customers, including many of the largest retailers, marketplaces and brands in North America, will be able to team up with Walmart.com.
The retailer with the best digital gift card program is…

Beauty giant Sephora scores the highest when it comes to online gifting. That’s according to RSR Research’s sixth annual digital gifting benchmarking report. Sephora came out on top, scoring 55 points out of a possible 66 points, followed by Starbucks (50.5) and The Home Depot (46.5). Rounding out the top five: Dunkin’ Donuts (44.5) and Amazon (43). (The top 25 retailers in the study are listed at the end of article.)
Shopko loses executive VP of retail

Shopko Stores confirmed Monday that executive VP of retail at Andre Persaud has left the company.
Report: Amazon planning to open drive-up grocery store

The world’s biggest online retailer is planning to open a drive-up grocery store in its hometown. At least that’s according to a report by GeekWire, which said Amazon plans to renovate a site in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood into a 9,759-sq.-ft. retail space where shoppers can pick up groceries that they ordered online.