STORE SPACES

Aston, Pa. -- Action Services Group, a national lighting, sign and electrical maintenance company, announced a program agreement with Sunoco Inc. to provide sign relamping services, plus location asset-survey services, for their retail high-rise signs across specified locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea plans to incorporate the largest geothermal heating and cooling system in the state of Kansas (and neighboring Missouri) in its upcoming store in Merriam, Kan. The 359,000-sq.-ft. store is now under construction.

The related drilling and underground work should be complete by winter, with the system operational when the building opens in fall 2014. The Ikea Merriam will be the second U.S. Ikea location with geothermal technology. (In 2011, Ikea opened a store Centennial, Col., that uses geothermal technology.)

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans for two new Nordstrom Rack stores, one in Nevada, and the other in Massachusetts.

The retailer said it will open a 36,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom Rack in fall 2014 at The Shops at Summerlin, a 1.6 million-sq.-ft. mixed-use center in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin.

Los Angeles – Menemsha Solutions, a provider of retail development services, completed the design-build for online retailer JustFab.

JustFab’s first brick-and-mortar flagship is a 3,000-sq.-ft. space at Glendale Galleria, in Glendale, Calif. Menemsha Solutions’ design team created a retail space cohesive with the brand’s online shopping experience. Custom lighting, video screens and niche displays were designed and applied to creatively showcase the product.

Mississauga, Ontario -- Target announced that an additional 44 store locations in Canada have been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification. This means that all 68 newly launched Target locations have been awarded LEED certification, a first for a major retailer in Canada.

Target is pursuing LEED certification for all 124 stores scheduled to open in Canada this year through the LEED Volume Program, which streamlines the certification process for buildings in both Canada and the U.S.

Mason, Ohio -- Pearle Vision will unveil its new store design on Sept. 17 in Legacy Village, Lyndhurst, Ohio. The new Cleveland-area location features a completely remodeled design, which includes everything from a new brand logo and signage to modernized displays and a completely transformed floor plan. The store design is by WD Partners, Columbus, Ohio.

New York -- Some retailers are raising the bar for engaging brick-and-mortar shoppers with clever, inventive experiences, while others are missing the boat when it comes to making in-store connections. 

“Up & Coming Brands; Brands in Need of a Refresh,” an exclusive Chain Store Age digital report from Interbrand Design Forum, provides an up-close look at the brands that are exceeding expectations and those that are falling behind.