News

New center set to rise in Richmond
A site near the entrance to Innsbrook Office Park in Glen Allen, Virginia, north of Richmond, has been slated as the home of Dominion Shoppes at Innsbrook, a project of Dominion GA, LLC. In a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield/Thalhimer, Dominion acquired the 2.4-acre tract from Doswell Properties for $2.9 million. The planned center is 100% pre-leased to tenants including Starbucks, Blaze Pizza, American Family Care, and Noodles & Company.
New owner for Flagstaff Mall in Arizona
The 388,000-sq.-ft. Flagstaff Mall has been acquired by Dallas-based Cypress Equities for an undisclosed sum. The single-level center opened with two anchors in 1979 and added a third anchor when it was expanded in 1987. Cypress plans to add three outparcel pads amounting to 18,000 sq. ft. to the former Woodmont property, and is exploring the conversion of select inline retail space to new uses. “It is our goal to establish Flagstaff Mall as the dominant retail destination in northern Arizona,” said Cypress CEO Chris Maguire.

Grocer bullish on expansion in 2017

Sprouts Family Market is expanding its footprint. The Phoenix-based grocer plans to open 35 stores in 2017, with 11 of the locations opening in the second quarter of the year. The 11 stores opening in the second quarter include three in California, two in Georgia, two in Florida locations, two in Texas locations and two in Colorado, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.
Holiday 2016: Shoppers more generous — and more last minute

Online spending, and the amount of purchases made after the standard shipping deadline, were on the rise this holiday season.
New integration connects merchants to Amazon Marketplace

Online sellers have another way to join the Amazon Marketplace. Shopify, a cloud-based multichannel commerce platform, developed an integration that enables its merchants selling in U.S. dollars to add the Amazon sales channel to their Shopify account. The new service also enables Shopify store owners to manage their product catalog for their e-commerce website, retail store, Amazon store, and other sales channels all in one place.
Surprise — Gap had a happy holiday

Gap Inc. turned in a positive holiday performance, reversing a string of declines, fueled by strong results from its Old Navy division and improvements by its namesake unit. The apparel giant also boosted its guidance for the year. Gap’s net sales for the November and December holiday season edged up 1% compared to the year-ago period. Total same-store sales rose 2%.
Amazon opening more bookstores

New Yorkers will have a new way to browse Amazon’s best-selling book titles — in a physical store. Later this year, the retail giant will open a bookstore at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan. Also on the slate for 2017 is a location in Chicago, and the Boston suburb of Dedham, Mass. Stores are also planned for Lynnfield, Mass., and Paramus, N.J.
Build-A-Bear CEO Goes ‘Undercover’

Going undercover isn’t easy. But it can definitely be worth the effort. Just ask Sharon Price John, president and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Sam’s Club CEO stepping down

The ranks of female retail CEOs is losing one of its highest-profile members. Rosalind G. Brewer, 54, has told Walmart she plans to retire as executive VP, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, effective Feb. 1, 2017. She will be succeeded by company veteran John Furner, 42, who joined Walmart as an hourly associate in 1993, effective Feb. 1. The news was announced in a filing by the chain.
Report: Walmart Canada settles dispute with Visa

A six-month battle between Walmart Canada and Visa has come to an end. The retailer, which threatened to ban the card processor from all of its stores nationwide due to “unacceptably high” credit-card transaction fees, has ended its feud, and will resume accepting Visa cards at its more than 400 stores starting Friday, Jan. 6.