REAL ESTATE

Butler Enterprises has named a Gainesville insider to promote and market its Neighborhoods at Butler project in that Florida college town.   The complex’s new director of marketing, Mary Reichardt, arrives at Butler from the Visit Gainseville-Alachua County Tourism Development Office, where she served as marketing chief. There, she created the county’s first brand strategy to establish awareness across the U.S. and in Europe.   

Whole Foods Market is upping its game.   In the face of growing competition, the supermarket chain has been adding restaurants, bars and tap rooms to its stores, reported The Orange County Register.    In select locations in California, Whole Foods is adding in-store outposts of a popular fast-casual eatery, Mendocino Farms, to its stores.   

Macerich is rolling out a plug-and-play concept that allows it to bring new retailers to its centers in a most untraditional way.    The mall owner announced it is expanding its portfolio for WithMe, an interactive physical store platform that allows brands to set up  limited-time shops in a most expedient way. WithMe offers brands a fully portable, pre-fabricated and high-tech retail environment that blend the best of online and offline shopping.    

Kenneth Cole is closing all its stores in outlet centers.   The company plans to shutter its 63 outlet stores within the next six months, Bloomberg reported. The move will leave the brand with two brick-and-mortar stores, both full priced, with one in downtown Manhattan and the other in Arlington, Va.  

One of the world’s largest sail manufacturers is sailing into Manhattan, but it won’t be selling its award-winning sails.   North Sails will open its third retail store on Nov. 16, in Manhattan. The company opened its first store in August, in Annapolis, Md., followed by a location in Newport, Rhode Island.  

Macy’s has signed an agreement that could lead to more downsizing of its valuable real estate portfolio. It also has entered into deals to sell one of its stores in San Francisco, and one in Portland, Oregon.   

Bed Bath & Beyond is going local in Brooklyn, New York.   The home décor chain’s upcoming store in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn will include a cafe that will feature local items, brooklynpaper.com reported, along with a coffee bar. The 120,000-sq.-ft. store will also offer cooking classes.     Other features will include a “Born in Brooklyn” department spotlighting items made in the borough as a means of supporting local manufacturers, according to the report.

In the summer of 2016, Pokémon Go was everywhere. And as players traversed the globe in search of the game’s titular critters, they were also wandering into new legal territory. Although the craze now appears to have subsided, the game’s sudden popularity raised intriguing legal questions that will inevitably affect the future of mobile applications and their relationship to retail businesses.