Store Expansion News: June update

Retailers and restaurants alike made headlines in June with store expansions and new formats. 

Here are the major stories as reported by CSA, starting with the most recent.

• Miniso opens Paris flagship; eyes 1,000 new stores The China-based value retailer opened its newest European store in Paris on June 22 on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, one of the city’s largest shopping districts and tourist-friendly areas. The chain also said it plans to open between 900 and 1,100 new stores globally in 2024.
• U.K. chain to grow SoCal footprint Pret A Manger opened its first store in Los Angeles with at least four more planned over the next few years. The sandwich and cafe chain’s SoCal expansion is part of its goal to reach 300 U.S. stores by 2029.
• LL.Bean launches store expansion The apparel retailer is expanding its footprint outside of New England, opening a new store at Ulster Crossing in Ulster, N.Y., with additional openings in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Connecticut planned for the fall.
• Nothing Bundt Cakes opens 600th store The specialty dessert chain opened its 600th bakery in Tampa last month. The new store is Nothing Bundt Cakes’ 41st new location so far in 2024, and marks progress for the company’s ambitious plans to open 1,000 locations by 2027. 
• Skims eyes opening permanent stores Reality TV mogul Kim Kardashian’s shapewear and apparel brand Skims is making its debut into physical retail. The brand has opened its first permanent store in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., which will be followed by four additional locations: Aventura, Fla., Austin, Houston and Atlanta.
• Casey’s to add at least 100 stores While announcing its latest quarterly earnings, Midwest convenience giant Casey’s said it expects to add at least 100 stores through a combination of new store construction and mergers and acquisitions in its current fiscal year. The chain currently operates more than 2,650 stores.
• Jack in the Box to open first stores in Georgia Quick-serve burger chain Jack in the Box will soon make its entrance into the Peach State with plans to open 15 locations. Georgia will be the 23rd state that Jack in the Box operates in. 
• Buc-ee’s opens largest store yet Fan-favorite convenience chain Buc-ee’s has opened its largest store yet: a 75,000-plus-sq.-ft. travel center in Luling, Texas, about an hour northeast of San Antonio. With the opening of the new Buc-ee's, the company operates 50 stores across Texas and the South. 
• Bape opens Chicago flagship store Japanese streetwear brand Bape (A Bathing Ape) has opened a two-level, 5,000-sq.-ft. flagship on Oak Street in Chicago. The brand’s fifth U.S. store features exclusive collections and was designed as a “modern tribute to the creativity, boldness and futuristic thinking of both the brand and the city.”
• Smoothie King to expand in Midwest Smoothie King announced plans to open six units in the Grand Rapids, Mich. metropolitan area. The chain also appointed a VP of real estate to plan further growth in key markets.
• Sky Zone plans Bay Area locations The indoor trampoline park chain planned new locations to open in Tracy and Milpitas, both part of California’s Bay Area, in 2025. The expansion plans bring Sky Zone closer to its 300-park milestone.