Retail

New York -- Legendary Manhattan off-price retailer Century 21 will open its first store outside its Northeast home base, at Sawgrass Mills, Sunrise, Florida. The 85,000-sq.-ft. store is set to open in the fall of 2016.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is launching the spring “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign, a nationwide initiative inviting the public to take action in the fight against hunger. Working with food companies including Campbell’s, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellogg Company, Kraft, and Unilever, Wal-Mart aims to donate up to $3 million to Feeding America based on customer participation in the #WeSparkChange social media challenge.

Seattle - Nordstrom has implemented new Oracle Retail Merchandise Operations Management and Oracle Retail Store Inventory Management solutions to support its expansion in Canada. The retailer plans to roll out the latest releases of these Oracle Retail solutions companywide to support its Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores.

Providing an omnichannel customer experience is one of the most rewarding and challenging efforts a retailer can undertake. I recently spoke with David Stover, global head of business-to-consumer omnichannel solution management for Hybris, about some of the benefits and difficulties operating in the omnichannel space presents retailers.

Store Enablement is Harder than it Looks
According to Stover, store enablement represents the “last foot” of retail.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners has appointed Woody McMinn as president of North American brokerage in the Dallas corporate headquarters office. In his newly created position for SRS, McMinn will be responsible for North American brokerage operations, leading market leaders and their respective teams, encouraging collaboration across markets and leading recruiting efforts to grow brokerage, offices, operations and productivity.

Tucson, Ariz. -- A 17-acre parcel of land at the northwest corner of Houghton and Old Vail Roads in southeastern Tucson, Arizona, is slated to become a new retail and restaurant hub. The site work has begun at Las Plazas at Old Vail, in the form of under-ground utilities, grading, retention/detention, common drive aisles, landscaping, curbs and parking lot lighting.

Chicago -- West Marine will celebrate the grand opening of its Chicago flagship on Thursday, April 23, and continuing through Sunday, April 26.

At 20,000 sq. ft., the Halsted Street location will be the largest West Marine store in the Midwest. The new store will include such features as a state-of-the-art marine electronics display with over 100 units that shoppers can touch and test, and a dedicated "Paddle World" featuring a huge selection of kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, plus a broad range of paddling accessories.

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded its 2015 Energy Star Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Award to Kohl’s Department Stores and Staples in recognition of the companies’ continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency initiatives.