News

Publix Supermarkets’ sales and profit rose in the fourth quarter amid continued expansion.      Publix’s net earnings for the fourth quarter rose 4.5% to $544.5 million, from $521.1 million in the year-ago period.   Sales rose 11.1% to $9.1 billion. (The additional week in the fourth quarter of 2016 increased sales by 7.4%.) Same-store sales increased 2.2%.  

In the wake of a disappointing quarter, Target Corp. is making long-term investments in its future.   The discounter plans to spend $7 billion in cash during the next three years as it lowers its prices and invests in its stores, with renovations planned for some 600 locations, reported CNBC.   "We can't capture that market share if we're presenting an old, tired store," Target CEO Brian Cornell said.  

Three different centers, three different owner/managers, three different recipes for shaping open-air centers to local tastes

Chris Ressa does not put a lot of stock in the word “experiential.” Though it’s become a companion to the word “retail” in the real estate industry, DLC Management Corp.’s senior VP of leasing finds it not up to the task of describing what’s too often missing at shopping venues.

Newest ASHRAE standard reduces LPD allowances

The ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1 energy standard provides a model energy code to jurisdictions interested in regulating the energy-efficient design of commercial buildings. ASHRAE recently published the 2016 version, which supersedes the 2013 version.

The U.S. Department of Energy recognizes the 2013 version as the national energy reference standard. Starting in October 2016, all states were required to have an energy code in place at least as stringent as 90.1-2013 or justify why they could not comply.

With just over 50 stores, Quincy Mall is hardly the biggest regional center in the nation, but it’s a big deal in the rural Mississippi River town of Quincy, Illinois, just a skiff’s ride from Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. And it was big news in Quincy when the J.C. Penney in the Cullinan-owned property closed shop.  

Starbucks Coffee Company will open for business in Italy for the first time in late 2018.   The coffee giant plans to open a 25,500-sq.-ft. Reserve Roastery outpost in late 2018 in Milan, in the historic, turn-of-the-century post office building in the city’s center. The Milan Reserve Roastery will be the first Starbucks Roastery to open in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and the fifth, globally. It is the first of additional Starbucks stores the company plans to open in Italy.   

Changes in the retail landscape call for changes in lease agreements, as well

With long-time anchors leaving malls, urgent care clinics moving into neighborhood centers, and online sellers applying pressure from all sides, retailers should take a new approach in structuring their lease agreements with property owners, say experts from both sides of the negotiations table.

CSA’s annual award program honors five growing brands

Innovation in retail means breaking down barriers, navigating a fiercely competitive marketplace and making connections with increasingly demanding customers. In this section, Chain Store Age profiles five retailers that are succeeding in both. They are the winners of CSA’s Breakout Retailers Awards.