News

WHAT’S ON TAP FOR RECON 2015?
When the International Council of Shopping Centers opens the doors of the Las Vegas Convention Center on May 17 to retailers and shopping center attendees from around the globe, it will unveil a lineup of newly built, underway and redeveloped properties ripe for deal-making.

Leasing interest at RECon 2015 is expected to be high, this despite naysayers who have predicted the demise of the shopping mall. Not likely, say those in the know.
MOVING DIRT
Major shopping center openings in 2014 beg the question, “Are we back on track?”

Last year may be the first 365-day period since the Great Recession that there is enough new shopping center space to crow about.

Chain Store Age’s annual development survey — spanning 26 years — reported pretty spotty new-build efforts from 2009 to 2013, but in 2014 some significant projects opened.

Celebrate Mother's Day with Whole Foods delivery

Whole Foods Market and Instacart are partnering to make it more convenient to show Mom how much you love her this Mother’s Day.
Shareholder urges TravelCenters of America to sell real estate

New York - RDG Capital Fund Management, a shareholder of TravelCenters of America, has engaged in what it calls “constructive dialogue” with TravelCenters CEO Tom O'Brien and other board members. RDG said the TravelCenters board has indicated a willingness to consider selling some company-owned real estate as a source of liquidity.
HOT MARKETS, HOT GROWTH CONCEPTS

Restaurants and retail have fertile expansion ground in certain markets

While it’s true that technology, brick-and-mortar changes, and evolving consumer behavior are causing foundational shifts in the retail industry, a closer look at different U.S.
Study: Social posts from malls lack info

Chicago – Customers at malls are actively posting via social media, but leaving out information that could help mall-based retailers. According to a new study from location-based social media monitoring firm Geofeedia, 91% of mall-based social posts lack relevant hashtags and/or keywords, and 8% of posts only contain photos or videos.
West Marine slightly shrinks loss in Q1

Watsonville, Calif. – West Marine Inc. slightly shrunk its net loss to $10.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $11.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses combined to total more than net revenues.
EXPANSION TEAMS

A look at brands and categories that are growing

I read CSA editor-in-chief Marianne Wilson’s recent “From the Editor’s Desk” column (page 8, March 2015 issue, Chain Store Age) with great interest. Her piece — “The store is back (even though it never left)” — touched on the topic of brick-and-mortar retail expansion and “the relevance of offline retail in an omnichannel world.”

The article got me thinking in more detail about the retail expansion we are seeing in 2015. What brands are growing?
Sears, Macerich form $150 million joint venture for nine mall stores

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holding Corp. and Santa Monica, California-based shopping mall operator The Macerich Co. are forming a 50/50 joint venture that will purchase nine Sears stores located in Macerich malls for $150 million. The venture will then lease the stores back to Sears or to other retailers.

Sears has entered two other similar leaseback joint ventures during April 2015, including deals with General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group. According to Macerich, the stores have average in-line sales of $680 per square foot.
JCPenney growing its Sephora presence

JCPenney Co. Inc. is expanding its in-store partnership with Sephora by adding the beauty retailer to more stores.