News Briefs

It’s going to be a busy spring at Lowe’s.

On March 20, 2025 (the official first day of spring), Lowe’s Companies Inc. begins hosting its annual SpringFest seasonal sales extravaganza. The home improvement giant is also introducing a new private brand for discount-priced home products and tools and giving store associates a break for Easter.

SpringFest

Initially introduced in 2021, Lowe’s SpringFest officially runs online and in-store from March 20 – May 1, 2025. The annual promotion features deals across categories including lawn & garden, grills, patio, outdoor power equipment, and appliances and paint. 

Available from Tuesday, March 18 throughout the SpringFest promotion, Lowe’s is offering doorbusters and weekly in-store and online deals exclusively for members of its MyLowe's Rewards loyalty program. 

[READ MORE: Lowe’s launches customer loyalty program]

During this time, Lowe's will also offer loyalty members 5x bonus points on select mulch purchases, a free member gift, 3x the points on select Dewalt and Klein tools. SpringFest will also feature some products exclusively sold at Lowe’s, including from name brands such as Weber and Toro. See sample deals here.

Lowe’s Essentials

The new Lowe’s Essentials private brand offers discount home goods as well as products for improvement projects, all priced under $10, available exclusively at Lowe's.

Easter Sunday store closure

All Lowe's stores will be closed on Easter Sunday, April 20, for what the retailer says is a chance for customers and associates to spend time with their loved ones. For customers looking to shop on Easter, there will be a one-day online-only sales event on Lowes.com.

A 100%-occupied shopping center in Iowa’s second-largest city is changing hands.

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of Northland Square in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The 106,500-sq.-ft. shopping center is fully occupied by national tenants, including T.J. Maxx, Barnes & Noble, OfficeMax, Old Navy, Famous Footwear, and Hallmark. The sale price was $17.5 million.

Hanley Investment Group’s Executive VP and partner Jeff Lefko and executive VP Bill Asher, in association with ParaSell, Inc., represented the seller, a Midwest-based private partnership. The buyer, a private investor based in Southern California, was represented by Doug Fielding, senior managing director investments with Marcus & Millichap in Phoenix.

Built in 1994 on 9.95 acres and renovated in 2000, Hanley Investment Group says Northland Square benefits from its position along Collins Road Northeast (State Highway 100), a main thoroughfare in the active retail corridor that sees over 34,000 cars per day.

Northland Square is adjacent to Lindale Mall, the top regional mall in Iowa, with 4.7 million annual visitors, according to Placer.ai. It is also across the street from Cedar Rapids’ largest employer, Collins Aerospace, which employs over 8,000 individuals.

[READ MORE: Standalone SoCal Chipotle sells for $5.9 million]

“We generated multiple qualified offers and procured a private, West Coast-based buyer, and sold the shopping center at a premium,” said Lefko. “Northland Square is a top-performing shopping center in Iowa with excellent accessibility and visibility from one of the region’s primary thoroughfares. This 100%-occupied property represented a stable and secure investment with a long history of occupancy by national tenants. Additionally, many of the tenants had recently signed long-term lease extensions.”

Beyond is selling its majority stake in a brand it purchased one year ago.

The company, whose brands include Bed Bath & Beyond, Buy Buy Baby and Overstock, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell online flash sale pioneer Zulily to Lyons Trading Company, operator of online off-price retailer Proozy.com. Under the terms of the agreement, Beyond, which purchased Zulily in March 2024, will receive $5 million while maintaining a 25% stake in the brand.

Earlier this year, Beyond entered into agreement with BBBY Acquisition Co. LLC to acquire the global rights of the Buy Buy Baby brand for $5 million. Beyond is launching a three-part strategy for Buy Buy Baby that include the possibility of standalone stores.

“We have made significant progress in improving the performance of Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock.com through sequential margin improvement, improved site experience, vendor consolidation and right-sizing our fixed expenses,” said Adrianne Lee, president and CFO, Beyond, “With the recent acquisition of Buy Buy Baby, we want our team laser focused on our core brands as we march towards profitability.”

The company said it expects the impact of the sale to be immaterial to its adjusted earnings per share on a full-year basis.

“This sale reflects our commitment to resource optimization, our mandate to delivering profits for our home and family-centric brands, and a focus on our largest growth opportunities as a company,” said Alex Thomas, COO of Beyond.

Sweetgreen has reached a new milestone with its first location in Virginia’s capital.

The health-focused fast-casual chain’s new Richmond store in the Carytown neighborhood marks its 250th location nationwide. The 2,162-sq.-ft. store located within the Publix-anchored Carytown Exchange shopping center will accommodate up to 24 diners inside and six diners on the restaurant's patio.

First founded in Washington D.C. in 2007, Sweetgreen now operates across the United States, serving customers salads and bowls that prioritize organic, regenerative and locally-sourced produce.

[READ MORE: Sweetgreen opens first North Carolina store]

In its most recent financial results released on Feb. 26, Sweetgreen said it anticipated at least 40 net new restaurant openings in fiscal 2025, with 20 slated to feature its "Infinite Kitchen" robotic kitchen system designed to automate food assembly. 

Last August, Sweetgreen tapped Christopher Tarrant as senior VP and chief development officer, tasked with overseeing real estate development, design and construction as the chain continues its growth.

“Sweetgreen was founded just a couple of hours from Richmond with the goal of bringing communities together through fresh, high-quality food,” said Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen. “We’re honored to carry that mission forward in Carytown, partnering with local businesses and serving delicious meals made with real ingredients. Opening our 250th location here makes this moment even more special, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate with the Richmond community.”

Meijer is growing its store footprint in the Buckeye State. 

The discount retailer is opening three new locations on May 8 in Northeast Ohio, increasing its store count in the state to 58. The new 159,000-sq.-ft. supercenters are located in Austintown, Medina and Richmond Heights.

The stores will feature Meijer’s signature wide assortment of fresh produce and grocery staples, including bakery, meat, seafood and deli departments, a floral area, garden center, apparel and home goods sections. The locations will also include a full-service pharmacy, health and beauty care section, an expansive pet department, electronics, toys and sporting goods.  

"We're investing heavily to serve the Northeast Ohio community and consistently receiving positive feedback about our value and convenience," said Todd Anderson, VP of the Ohio region for Meijer. "Ohio was the first state we expanded to outside of Michigan, and we look forward to continuing that growth this year and into the future."

[READ MORE: Meijer adds Pinterest to retail media network]

The privately-owned, family-operated Meijer operates more than 500 supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, and express locations throughout the Midwest. 

Klarna has formed an exclusive partnership with Walmart’s finance app, OnePay.

The Swedish payments giant, which is planning to go public in the U.S., will be the exclusive provider of installment (buy now, pay later) loans for purchases at Walmart in the United States. Klarna will provide the loans to Walmart customers through OnePay, offering flexible payment options for items bought  online and in stores, and will be directly integrated inside Walmart at checkout this year.

Klarna’s partnership with OnePay replaces Affirm, which has been the exclusive provider for buy now, pay later loans for Walmart since 2019.

"This is a game changer,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO, Klarna. “Millions of people in the U.S. shop at Walmart every day — and now they can shop smarter with OnePay installment loans powered by Klarna. OnePay choosing Klarna as their exclusive installment loans partner at Walmart in the U.S. is a huge vote of confidence as we pursue our goal of being available everywhere for everything.”

Walmart U.S. customers will have the option to use OnePay installment loans powered by Klarna to shop for thousands of items. Once approved, customers will be able to choose from a range of repayment terms, from 3 to 36 months, and have the ability to manage their loan experience in the OnePay app.

“It’s never been more important to give consumers simple and convenient ways to access fair credit at the point of sale — and that’s especially true for the millions of people who turn to Walmart every week for everything,” said Omer Ismail, CEO, OnePay. “We’re incredibly excited to partner with Klarna to give consumers easier and more seamless ways to shop with OnePay at Walmart.”