News

Value teen retailer in aggressive store expansion
Five Below Inc. reported its 11th consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales results amid bullish growth plans for the current year. The value retailer, which targets tweens and teens with a wide array of goods all priced at $5 or below, said it will open 100 stores in 2017, including its first ever locations in the state of California. The chain opened 85 net new stores in 2016.
Real estate experts: Still business as usual at Sears
Despite dire statements made on a recent SEC filing, Sears and Kmart stores will remain as fixtures on the retail landscape for some time to come, according to retail real estate experts contacted by Chain Store Age. “The news was not news,” said REIT analyst Alexander Goldfarb of Sandler O’Neill + Partners about a Sears filing that questioned its own future as a “going concern.”

Commentary: Shopping center owner ahead on the curve on Sears

Sears Holdings Corp.’s acknowledgement in a filing on Tuesday that the retailer had “serious doubt” about its future came as no big surprise to the retail industry, including Joseph Coradino, chairman and CEO of PREIT, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and manages 23 million square feet of retail and lifestyle space.
Starbucks in hiring spree fueled by continuing store expansion

Starbucks Corp. is ramping up its job hiring, here and abroad. It’s also doubling down on its commitment to the nation’s veterans. Hosting its 25th annual shareholders meeting in Seattle, the coffee giant announced plans to create more than 240,000 jobs around the world, including 68,000 jobs in the United States, by 2021.
Sears issues dire warning about its ability to survive

The fat lady is singing at Sears Holdings Corp. The long-struggling retailer said on Tuesday that there was “substantial doubt” that it could stay in business.
Lighting control rebates going strong

Lighting rebates hit a record of sorts in 2016. Commercial lighting rebates covered 79% of the United States, according to BriteSwitch, which is a record high since the rebate processing company began measuring rebate coverage nine years ago. The company cited several reasons for the historic high, including that many programs replenished their rebate funds in January. Also, some large programs that ran out of money years ago have come back such as FirstEnergy in Ohio and Duquesne Light in Pennsylvania.
CSA honors Breakout Retailer Award winners

Chain Store Age honored five dynamic and growing retail and restaurant brands at its annual Breakout Retailer Awards presentation, which was held at CSA’s SPECS 2017 Conference, in Kissimmee, Florida. The Breakout Retailer honorees for 2017 were Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, MOD Pizza, Sugarfina and Warby Parker. The awards were sponsored by Paint Folks, a division of Academy Service Group.
Fine jeweler to launch discount model

The nation’s largest family-owned and operated retail jewelry chain is opening its first-ever outlet stores. Rogers & Hollands Jewelers will launch a discount store prototype, Rogers & Hollands Outlet, this April. Two Rogers & Hollands stores in the Chicago area, one at North Riverside Park Mall and one at Golf Mill Shopping Center, will be rebranded, remodeled and reopened under the new banner.
‘Hold on a minute,’ says Sears

Sears Holding Corp. tried to walk back the uproar it caused early Tuesday morning when the struggling retailer included cautionary language about whether it would be able to continue as a "going concern” in its annual 10-K filing.
Women’s apparel chain looks to close stores and focus online

Four years of losses are catching up with Bebe Stores Inc. The fashion retailer is hoping to turn its brand around by closing its stores and putting all its focus on e-commerce, according to Bloomberg. Bebe currently operates about 170 stores.