STORE SPACES

New York -- The first Walmart to be entirely lit with LEDs has opened, in South Euclid, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. The store will serve as a model for environmentally friendly design for future locations, with 100% LED lighting, electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot and more.

Other notable features of the store include:

New York -- Talking mannequins almost steal the show at the exhibition, “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk,” which opened recently at The Brooklyn Museum in New York City.  

Welcome to Chain Store Age’s Retail RoadTrip, a semi-regular update on cool new stores around the country. For this first outing, here’s a look at six stores creating buzz in the Big Apple.

 1. Alexander McQueen

Shanghai, China -- The Walt Disney Co. announced plans to open its first store in mainland China, in Shanghai. The 53,000-sq.-ft. Disney Store, expected to open in early 2015, will be the company’s largest store to date.

The store will be located in Shanghai's financial hub. It will feature an approximate 10,800-sq.-ft. retail space, and a Disney-themed outdoor plaza area that can be used to host outdoor events. The surrounding area has foot traffic of more than 40 million visitors a year.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe has launched a complete redesign of its CornerBakeryCafe.com website that allows customers to personalize their online and offline experience with their local Corner Bakery Café store.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Home Appliance Showrooms is rolling out a new revamped interior designed to make shopping for appliances an easier experience for consumers.

The updated sales floor presentations include a new merchandising layout allowing showrooms to expand key lines such as built-in cooking, cooktops, and laundry, and improve customer shopping experiences with new displays of dishwashers and floor care.

Acton, Pa. – Action Services Group has signed a service agreement with Dollar General Corporation to provide its lighting, sign and electrical maintenance services to an additional 534 Dollar General store locations across Connecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Vermont.

Mooresville, N.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Lowe's Companies, Inc. the highest honors for industry leadership in its SmartWay and WaterSense programs. On Oct. 22, Lowe's received the 2013 SmartWay Excellence Award for its environmental performance in the freight transportation industry. This month, the EPA also recognized Lowe's with a 2013 WaterSense Sustained Excellence award for its long-standing efforts to educate consumers about water-efficient products and practices.