Retail

H-E-B has registered its new store in Austin for LEED certification and Austin Energy Green Building certification. Apart from using a propane refrigeration system, the store includes a number of other green “firsts” for H-E-B, including the use of 100% LED lighting, radiant floor cooling, a chilled water system that supports the store refrigeration and HVAC systems, chilled sails/beams for cooling, a wood building frame and roof deck, a ceramic-based roof coating and extensive use of photovoltaic panels.

Milford, Conn. — Subway opened its 40,000th location at an AppleGreen petrol station in Ipswich, England. The company has opened 1,761 locations around the world since the start of 2013. The largest chain of sub shops in the world, Subway leads the next largest chain by more than 5,500 locations.

The U.K. is the brand’s third largest market, behind the U.S. and Canada. There are 14,000 international locations in 102 countries outside the U.S.

L3 Capital invests in what it calls prime urban retail, which includes a lot of street retail in the premier cities. "We own retail properties in several neighborhoods in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago," said Greg Schott managing piincipal.

At the end of last year, L3 made its first investment in its hometown of Chicago. The company bought four retail buildings along a flourishing four-block retail stretch of Southport Avenue in the Lakewood neighborhood. The cost was $13 million for 17,000 sq. ft.

At a time of year when consumers are still caught up in end-of-summer barbecues and back-to-school shopping, retailers are getting caught up in the rush of holiday planning. Holiday sales can account for 20% to 40% of a retailer’s total annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation, and a successful holiday can turn around a bad year or make a good year even better.

But the holiday season presents challenges as well as opportunities.

Des Moines, Iowa — The Des Moines Area Community College opened its school year with a new campus: a 65,000-sq.-ft. former J.C. Penney store located on the main level of Southridge Mall.

The mall’s owner, Macerich sold the space to DMACC for $1. The school, which has three other campuses in the Des Moines metro area, has invested $13 million in design, construction, equipment, labs and classrooms. Major donations will be announced this fall.

St. Louis – Brown Shoe Company swung from a net loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 to net earnings in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. The retailer also boosted net sales and same-store sales.

To provide customers with true omnichannel shopping capabilities, retailers must internally align all store and ERP functions. Mike Burge, founder and CEO of integrated retail enterprise platform provider MI9, recently spoke with Chain Store Age about how effective omnichannel retailing works and how retailers can leverage IT systems to achieve success in an omnichannel environment.

What are the main objectives of omnichannel?

The Woodlands, Texas – Conn’s Inc. opens two new HomePlus stores on Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz., and Houston. The new Conn’s HomePlus store format showcases furniture and mattresses in addition to consumer electronics and home appliances.

The stores are located at 5000 Arizona Mills Circle, Tempe, and 9567 South Main Street, Houston. The Arizona Mills Mall location is Conn’s third new store in the Phoenix metropolitan market and fourth location in Arizona.