Retail

Ikea shares lessons learned from 39 diverse installations

Sustainability is a cornerstone of home furnishings retailer Ikea, its brand and its business plan, reflecting the company’s Swedish heritage.

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Matthews, N.C. -- Shareholders of Harris Teeter Supermarkets on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to approve the previously announced merger with The Kroger Co.
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Harris Teeter shareholders will receive $49.38 per share in cash for each share of Harris Teeter common stock that they own.

Upon closing of the transaction, Harris Teeter’s common stock will no longer be publicly traded and Harris Teeter will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Kroger.
 

Across America, big-box centers are powering back up

Power centers have proven themselves to be a resilient asset class in recent years. First the recession cut into business. Then e-commerce leveled some of their big-box tenants, hurt others and ignited a downsizing trend.

Yet research from Washington, D.C.-based CoStar Group shows that only 2% of power centers have vacancy rates of 40% or higher and probably won’t recover. Another 6% have vacancy rates of 20% to 40% and are in serious condition but may recover.

It’s easy these days to get caught up in the frenzy as online sales growth outpaces total retail sales growth. But let’s not lose sight of an important fact: The physical store still remains the most crucial brand touchstone for shoppers. It’s also where the overwhelming majority of retailers still rack up their volume. And according to nearly every reputable forecast, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

The National Retail Federation showed its Christmas spirit on Thursday by releasing a holiday forecast that calls for sales to increase 3.9% to $602 billion and assumes the President and Congress will be able to resolve their differences.

NRF’s forecasted growth rate of 3.9% is a solid figure and well above the 3.3% average growth rate of the past 10 years and ahead of last year’s 3.5% gain. In addition, the trade group’s Shop.org digital division forecast that online sales would grow between 13% and 15% to roughly $82 billion.

New York - Fairway Group Holdings Corp., the parent company of Fairway Market, is opening a 65,000-sq.-ft. store in Nanuet, N.Y., on Oct. 10.

"We're excited to make our newest home at this premier shopping destination in Nanuet and are also very pleased to be creating more than 300 new jobs in the area," said Charles Santoro, Fairway Market's executive chairman.

JustFab blends fashion, commerce and technology in its first physical store

JustFab, the fast-growing fashion subscription e-commerce brand, has joined the growing ranks of pure online players venturing into brick-and-mortar. The company made its retail debut in Glendale Galleria, Glendale, Calif., opening a 3,000-sq.-ft. flagship that combines digital and traditional retailing.