Retail

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway and Giant Eagle are rolling out the inMarket Mobile to Mortar iBeacon location sensing platform at more than 150 grocery stores in Seattle, San Francisco, and Cleveland, with additional retailers and markets launching in the coming months. iBeacons are micro-location technology that use a low-energy Bluetooth signal to enable unique mobile app experiences based on the customer’s location in the store.

While the vulnerabilities of Target's data systems were exposed during a recent data breach the company’s data centers were being hailed as a model of energy efficiency by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.

Tampa, Fla. — RMC Property Group has announced plans to redevelop the Publix-anchored Indian Rocks Shopping Center in Largo, Fla. Bealls Outlet and Dollar Tree also serve as co-anchors at the center.

Publix recently signed a new lease and plans to completely redevelop a 45,000-sq.-ft. store. The existing Publix closed in December 2013. Plans call for the redeveloped store to open this fall.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Ace Hardware Corporation has appointed Tom Knox, 59, as president and CEO of Westlake Ace Hardware, Ace’s largest cooperative comprising 85 stores. Knox will be leaving his role as VP, retail business development, training & supply at Ace’s corporate offices and relocating to the Kansas City area to pursue his new role.

Upscale department store retailer Bloomingdale’s isn’t a name typically associated with football, but that all changes this year as a result of the Super Bowl being held in New York for the first time ever.

Bloomingdale’s, operator of 37 department stores nationwide, will use its flag ship store on 59th Street in Manhattan to unveil a collection of designer helmets and a unique and stylish collection of entertaining essentials beginning January 15.

The International Council of Shopping Centers created a terrorist-awareness training program shortly after 9/11. At the time, there were no training programs in place for the shopping center industry.

“We hired George Washington University to develop a program and funded the work with $2 million,” said Malachy Kavanagh, ICSC spokesperson. “We created a 10-module course that is delivered over the Internet. You can learn at your own pace. If you work right through, it will take 14 to 15 hours.”

While we wait for all of the official numbers to come in from the 2013 holiday shopping season — a topic I’ll address in a future column — I thought this might be a good time to expand on one of the points I made about retail downsizing in my 2014 forecast piece.

As the clicks and bricks went head-to-head in retail’s all-important holiday season, the “clicks” had already won the 2013 race to build new warehouse and distribution facilities. Winning the overall retail race is quickly becoming about being first from dock to doorstep and satiating customer’s hunger for insta-delivery. This means having the right infrastructure, particularly supporting facilities, in place.