REAL ESTATE

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.
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.
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.
SRS Real Estate names president of North American brokerage

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners has appointed Woody McMinn as president of North American brokerage in the Dallas corporate headquarters office. In his newly created position for SRS, McMinn will be responsible for North American brokerage operations, leading market leaders and their respective teams, encouraging collaboration across markets and leading recruiting efforts to grow brokerage, offices, operations and productivity.
Las Plazas at Old Vail breaks ground

Tucson, Ariz. -- A 17-acre parcel of land at the northwest corner of Houghton and Old Vail Roads in southeastern Tucson, Arizona, is slated to become a new retail and restaurant hub. The site work has begun at Las Plazas at Old Vail, in the form of under-ground utilities, grading, retention/detention, common drive aisles, landscaping, curbs and parking lot lighting.
Century 21 to expand beyond Northeast with store in Florida

New York -- Legendary Manhattan off-price retailer Century 21 will open its first store outside its Northeast home base, at Sawgrass Mills, Sunrise, Florida. The 85,000-sq.-ft. store is set to open in the fall of 2016.
Report: San Francisco has lowest retail vacancy rate in the U.S.

New York -- Prospects for stellar rent growth and low vacancy helped make San Francisco the top-ranked city, followed by New York, in Marcus & Millichap’s 2015 National Retail Index, an annual real estate ranking of 46 major U.S. markets. Rounding out the top five: San Jose (#3); Austin (#4) and San Diego (#5).