News Briefs

Trail-blazing financial news journalist Ron Insana will be one of the keynote speakers at Chain Store Age’s annual  SPECS Show. The event will be held March 9–11, 2025, at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. 

Known for his high-profile interviews, which have included presidents, billionaire investors and captains of industry, Insana is currently senior analyst and commentator at CNBC and also hosts the daily nationally syndicated radio program, The Market Score Board Report.

In addition to being an award-winning author, Insana is the CEO of iFi AI, an AI-powered stock research platform created in partnership with IBM watsonx, as well as the founder and CEO of film and TV production company, The Insana Entertainment Group.

Insana will discuss the forces impacting the economy and business during his keynote at SPECS, on Tuesday, March 11. He also will share actionable information that will enable attendees to spot fresh opportunities and make smarter business decisions. 

Troy Aikman

Also speaking at SPECS is legendary football icon, Monday Night Football analyst and successful business entrepreneur Troy Aikman, who will deliver the opening keynote on Monday, March 10. Aikman will share his journey from football hero to business leader, including his brewing company’s upcoming growth plans, 

[READ MORE: Troy Aikman to keynote SPECS 2025]

The offices of Chain Store Age are officially closed on Monday, Jan. 20, in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The holiday is also designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King and improve their communities.

CSA’s DayBreaker will resume publishing on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Sephora has embarked on one of the largest capital projects in its history.

The beauty giant is redesigning all of its stores across the U.S. and Canada, Artemis Patrick, president and CEO of Sephora North America, said during a presentation at the National Retail Federation’s annual Big Show in New York City. The company operates more than 700 stores across North America.

“We are touching every single store,” Patrick said. 

Some of the locations will receive a major redesign, Patrick explained, while others will receive more of a minor one or a refresh. The majority of the work will be done within the next five years.

“It’s not a capital issue,” she added. “it’s a resource issue.”

The revamp comes after Sephora has been testing a format that makes it “a lot easier to update our stores,” Patrick said. The format is focused on the company’s four main categories: skin care, fragrance, make-up and hair-care.

Some of the changes include putting a beauty studio off to the side of the space, mobile checkout and more modular fixtures.

“We’re creating a much more agile footprint,” Patrick said. 

One of the goals of the fleet revamp is to ensure that Sephora stores offer customers the same experience across its store network. To date, the retailer has rolled out the changes to 111 doors. Sales and transactions are up in the revamped stores.

In other remarks during her presentation, Patrick emphasized the importance of Sephora’s “highly educated,” non-commissioned in-store beauty advisors.

“Our secret source 100% is our beauty advisors,” she said.

The Sephora executive also noted the important role physical stores play in beauty, a category where customers value the ability to try and touch product.

"I'm not sure I'll see a world in my lifetime where people don't want to touch and play with beauty," she said.

It’Sugar continues to expand its footprint. 

The company, one of the largest specialty candy retailers in the U.S., has relocated its location at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Ill. At 5,600 sq. ft., the upgraded storefront is nearly double the size of It'Sugar's previous store. 

The Woodfield Mall location is It’Sugar’s fifth store in the Chicago market. It features more than 300 “pick n’ mix” candy bins filled with a wide variety of sweets, ranging from classic favorites to trendy treats. Additional offerings include private label items, international candy and TikTok-inspired goodies.

Alongside its signature bulk candy offerings, It’Sugar also features immersive candy displays from brands such as Sour Patch Kids, OREO, Nerds, Skittles, Reese’s and Starburst.

The opening of the relocated Woodfield Mall store comes shortly after It’Sugar opened its 125th U.S. location, a 1,700-sq.-ft. store at the Galleria at Crystal Run in Middletown, N.Y. 

“It’Sugar is more than a candy store,” said Jonathan Schwartz, VP of real estate, It’Sugar. “We deliver a candy experience unlike any other, bringing your favorite brands to life with bright colors, hilariously entertaining displays, and a wide variety of sweets and treats. Our goal is to create an environment where people of all ages can feel like a kid in a candy store.”

CBRE Group, Inc. has arranged the sale of a large grocery-anchored center in a fast-growing market.

The real estate firm has announced the sale of Mountain’s Edge Marketplace, a 115,037-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center shadow-anchored by Albertsons, situated in the master-planned community of Mountain’s Edge in Las Vegas. The property was sold to an accomplished out-of-state investor for $50,305,000, or $437 per square foot.

The property, which was built in 2016, is 98% leased to 40 national and local retailers, including Ross, Planet Fitness, Starbucks, Supercuts, The UPS Store, China A Go Go, and T-Mobile, along with a complementary mix of national, regional, and local retailers, service providers, and restaurants. The Albertsons-occupied property was not included in the sale.

[READ MORE: CBRE sells three SoCal centers]

Roy Fritz and Preston Fetrow of CBRE’s National Retail Investment Partners-West led the transaction representing the seller, Remington Nevada, a private investment firm based in Las Vegas, focused on developing Class A retail shopping centers in the Southwest.

“Nevada and Las Vegas specifically continue to attract institutional and private capital investments in retail assets,” said Philip D. Voorhees, CBRE vice chairman. “The combination of a premier quality asset in one of the most coveted master plans in Las Vegas and exceptional, long-term, fixed-rate, non-recourse financing permitted an excellent result for buyer and seller and new record pricing in greater Las Vegas for a shadow-anchored grocery asset of this size, on a cap rate basis.”

CBRE Group, Inc. is headquartered in Dallas, and is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2023 revenue).

Omnichannel shopping and local pickup options played a key role in the 2024 holiday shopping season.

According to insights from Locally, a real-time network of over 55,000 retailers worldwide, this past holiday season saw 7.5% year-over-year growth in buy online, pick-up in-store and reserve online-pick-up In-store transactions across its network. Nearly 50% of online shoppers abandoned their carts when local pickup wasn’t an option, which underscores the importance of omni-channel solutions. This year, Locally says over 90% of leading retailers are expected to adopt omnichannel strategies.

Locally also found that 71% of consumers preferred supporting local retailers, even if it meant paying a slight price premium, adding that people who conduct a local Google search on their smartphone visit a physical place within 24 hours, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase. Locally says that brands using its platform reported a 49% increase in retailer engagement and inventory participation during the past holiday season.

[READ MORE: Salesforce: Global online holiday sales set $1.2T record; returns boom]

"The 2024 holiday season confirmed that consumers value connection, trust, and the tangible benefits of shopping locally," said Mike Massey, founder and CEO of Locally. "The data shows a clear and sustained shift toward local retail as a preferred choice. Consumers increasingly demanded the flexibility to browse and buy on their terms, and local retailers were quick to respond with omnichannel strategies that bridged the gap between digital and physical commerce.”