REAL ESTATE

Saks’ Off 5th to open in Beverly Hills
New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th will open its first store in Los Angeles County, in the Beverly Connection shopping center in Beverly Hills California.

The new two-level, 27,000-sq.ft. store will be fashioned in an open, modular layout.

“Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th’s move to Beverly Hills is an exciting venture for us,” stated Jonathan Greller, president of outlets, HBC (Saks’ parent company).
Report: Kroger to close, rebrand some Harris-Teeter stores
Cincinnati – The Kroger Co. is reportedly planning to close and rebrand some stores operating under the Harris-Teeter banner in Tennessee. According to the Nashville Tennesseean, Kroger will close four Harris-Teeter stores it operates in Nashville by June 2015.

Three of those stores will reopen under the Kroger banner. Kroger previously closed a Harris-Teeter location in Nashville, but has not yet rebranded any Harris-Teeter stores. Kroger purchased the Harris-Teeter grocery chain for $2.4 billion in January 2014.

Eatery chain Newk’s plans 200 new stores by 2018, Southern expansion

Jackson, Miss. – Newk’s Eatery is planning franchise growth in new markets stretching across the South. Expansion will occur in markets including Savannah, Georgia and Orlando, Florida, to Lubbock and Midland-Odessa, Texas, with Washington, D.C, Richmond and Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Oklahoma City in between.
Denmark discounter Tiger to open its first U.S. store

New York -- Tiger, the Danish discount chain known for its low prices and design emphasis, is entering the United States, opening a 5,000-sq.-ft. flagship in May, in New York City.

Tiger stores offer a quirky, ever-changing selection of exclusive products across a wide variety of categories, including home, toys, hobby, party, snacks, electronics, gadgets, fashion accessories and seasonal. The majority of its products, roughly half of which are designed in house, sell for $10 or less.
Japan’s Jins Eyewear making U.S. debut with San Francisco store, website

San Francisco – Jins Eyewear, Japan’s largest eyewear brand by volume, will open its first U.S. store on April 10, in San Francisco's Union Square neighborhood. The 4,900-sq.-ft. space will house more than 1,200 different styles of Jins exclusive eyewear.
Retail Rap: Is the Apparel Industry Dressing Down?

In a column I wrote between Black Friday and Christmas last year, I talked about how “apparel sales have been languishing”, and I mentioned that the “industry buzz is all about the struggles in apparel, where retailers just can’t seem to discount clothing enough to get things to pick up.”
99 Cents Only opens nine new California stores

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is opening nine new stores in California between April 9 and April 11. The stores will be located in the communities of San Luis Obispo, Ontario, Sonora, Santee, Escondido, Tustin, San Bernardino, Cypress and South El Monte.

99 Cents Only currently operates 384 stores located in California, Texas, Arizona & Nevada.
Nordstrom Rack plans two new stores

Seattle – Nordstrom Inc. plans to open two new Nordstrom Rack stores in Pittsburgh and Novi, Michigan. The 40,000-sq.-ft. Pittsburgh store is scheduled to open in fall 2016 at The Block Northway mall.
Leslie’s Poolmart plans 41 new stores

Phoenix – Leslie’s Poolmart Inc. will open 15 new retail locations throughout the U.S. on Thursday, April 9. Cities with new stores will include Auburn, Bakersfield, Ceres, Palmdale; San Mateo and San Rafael, California; Rockledge, St. Augustine and Tallahassee, Florida; Gainesville, Georgia; Glenpool, Oklahoma; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Hudson Oaks, Texas; Queen Creek, Arizona and Monroe, Louisiana.
Uniqlo continues USA expansion with plans to enter Seattle, Denver and D.C. areas

New York – Japanese retailer Uniqlo continues its U.S. expansion with plans open its first-ever stores in the Seattle, Denver and Washington, D.C., metro areas.

In the state of Washington, the retailer will open a 13,000-sq.-ft. location at Seattle’s The Bellevue Collection this fall. In spring/summer 2015, the retailer will open a 10,000-sq.-ft. store at Tyson's Corner Center, and a 22,000-sq.-ft. store on Denver's 16th Street, at The Denver Pavilions.