STORE SPACES

New York -- Give your new store and renovation projects the recognition they deserve:  Entries are now being accepted for the 31st annual Chain Store Age Retail Store of the Year Design Competition, which will celebrate outstanding retail and restaurant design.  More than 20 categories are featured, ranging from supermarkets and discount/mass merchants to specialty stores and pop-up stores. Entries may be submitted by retailers, designers, architects or suppliers.

New York -- Walmart Canada has retrofitted all of the overhead sales floor lighting at its supercenter in Brampton, Ontario, from conventional fluorescent lighting to high efficiency LED 4-ft. retrofit lamps. The retailer estimates the change could save approximately 283,000 kilo-watt hours (kWh) per year, which will results in a savings of up to $26,000 per year.

Miami Beach, Fla. -- Terranova Corp. has signed a lease with Gap, providing a temporary store for the retailer while it builds its new multi-story location on Lincoln Road in Miami.

Gap will open a new location just off Lincoln Road at 1669 Meridian Ave., two blocks away from Gap’s current location at 1001 Lincoln. The existing Gap will close by early 2013, when Gap will begin redeveloping the building into a two-level, 20,000-sq. ft. flagship store. During construction, Gap will stay open for business at the Meridian Avenue location.

Chicago -- Claire's Stores Inc. announced the recent opening of the first Claire's stores in China, in DaNing Life Hub in Shanghai. The company’s second China store will open on Dec. 7, in Grand Gateway Mall in Shanghai.

Claire’s has entered China on an owned and operated basis and has established a new division based in Shanghai.

Minneapolis -- Sprouts Farmers Market has installed enterprise asset management software from Verisae to support the company’s aggressive growth strategy.

The grocery retailer, which recently acquired Sunflower Farmers Market, recently implemented core modules of the Verisae connected facility platform; enterprise asset management (EAM), enterprise refrigerant management (ERM) and enterprise asset purchasing (EAP) solutions.

New York -- As new CEO Ron Johnson works to transition the “old” J.C. Penney into a new era filled with shop-in-shops, he and his team have devised a way to keep the store looking fresh during the changeover: they use a lot of mannequins.

Read full story here.

From ultra-lux boutiques to fast-fashion emporiums, New York City saw an influx of new stores this past year. Here’s our list of the top new must-see stores in the city:

C. Wonder: The brand’s second Manhattan location is even more whimsical and colorful than the first. With decor that includes polka-dot horses, multicolored striped zebras and 6-ft. logo teddy bears, the 8,000-sq.-ft. store personifies C. Wonder’s fun, upbeat personality. (Shops at Columbus Circle, 18 Columbus Circle)

Claysburg, Pa. -- C-store chain Sheetz said Tuesday that it will open its new employee health-and-wellness center on Wednesday, marking the first LEED-certified building in Blair County.

The 11,000-sq.-ft. Sheetz Center for Shwellness is located beside the Sheetz Distribution Center in Claysburg, Pa. In partnership with Marathon-Health, the company will use medical staff to provide individual health and wellness coaching to employees and their eligible dependents.