STORE SPACES

Disney is looking to update its customer experience, offline and online, in what it said represents "the next generation of Disney retail."   The company is testing a new store prototype in select locations, including Century City, Calif.; Northridge, Calif.; Miami, Fla. (opening Sept. 28); Nagoya, Japan; and Shanghai, China. The prototype is designed to bring the magic of Disney to retail through innovative technology, storytelling and cast member interaction, the company stated.  

A tech-savvy retailer with an unusual business model is expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint nationally.    b8ta announced plans to open four new stores, designed by Gensler, with locations in San Francisco, San Jose, Calif. (Santana Row), Houston (Galleria), and New York City. The expansion, which brings the company's total store count to nine, kicks off with the opening of a store in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley neighborhood on Sept. 29.  

Williams Sonoma is expanding its new dedicated home furnishings store format.  

Big Lots has finally unwrapped its store of the future.   Located in the company's hometown of Columbus, Ohio, the store has a less promotional, softer look. Gaudy, aggressive signs have been replaced with more traditional aisle markers and color coding have replaced the chain's signs that "shouted" at customers, Columbus Business First reported. Customers are greeted with a big "Hello" on a wall as they enter, with a "thank you" sign on the way out.  

Nordstrom is collaborating with a retailer known for its high-quality, ethically made fashion basics and "radical transparency."   The department store retailer's themed pop-up shop concept, Pop-In@Nordstrom, will be dedicated to a collection of products from Everlane. The in-store shop will launch in eight Nordstrom stores on Sept. 29, and run through Nov. 12. Items will also be available online.   

Commercial retail is a unique and rapidly changing space. With the rise of online shopping, retailers are creatively adapting to improve the experience of being in a physical store. Strategies like experiential retail make shopping a personalized and engaging experience instead of a simple transaction.   Retailers are also providing customers with a more tech-friendly brick-and-mortar shopping experience in response to online competitors – the prevalence of self-serve check-out stations being just one example.   

Chick-fil-A is going big in the Big Apple with a location that will also include some atypical features for the chain.    The company will open its third restaurant in Manhattan, on Fulton Street in the Financial District, in 2018. At more than 12,000 sq. ft., it will be the chain's largest location to date, with five levels, complete with a rooftop terrace for dining. It will feature design elements that have never been featured at a Chick-fil-A restaurant before.  

Japanese fast-fashion retailer Uniqlo is going all out for denim in Los Angeles.   The company, part of Fast Retailing Group, will open a special store dedicated to denim in the Arts District of Los Angeles this fall/winter. The new "denim concept" shop will be Uniqlo's 47th location in the U.S., and ninth in the L.A. region following the opening at Westfield Santa Anita mall earlier in September.  

Microsoft will open its third flagship location, which will also be the company's first retail store in London.    The company announced plans to open a flagship on Regent Street at Oxford Circus. The location, which in the heart of the city's retail district, is just down the road from an Apple flagship.   

Ikea is looking to expand its presence in Arizona.    The home furnishings retailer plans to open a store in Glendale, Arizona. It would be the company's second location in the state.