STORE SPACES

Skechers has debuted a new store format in its largest mall location to date.    The company has opened a 24,000-sq.-ft. outlet store at Ontario Mills, Ontario, California, that houses one of the widest assortments of Skechers products under one roof, with dedicated departments for the brand's various lifestyle and performance collections for men and women. The new Skechers Superstore also features a fun kids’ area, complete with a candy shop and a theater space screening Skechers cartoons.  

An online thrift store that counts some 20 million users has opened its first-ever physical storefront.    ThredUp has opened an outpost at Tanger Outlets, in San Marcos, Texas. The company plans to add four additional locations by year end. It is targeting traditional malls, outlet centers, and main street shopping districts nationwide.   

WD Partners has tapped a 30-years plus retail consulting and design veteran as executive VP.   Dan Stanek will serve as the business vertical leader of health & wellness for WD and work to further expand the sector.   Stanek most recently worked as chief strategy office for Ologie, and as president of FootClick, an indoor location software platform. His previous positions include executive VP of Big Red Rooster, executive VP of Kantar Retail, and executive VP of Retail Forward.  

German discount grocer is expanding its presence and investment in the U.S. — on two fronts.    On the heels of its first 10 stores opening in the U.S., Lidl is expanding with more locations. On July 13, the company will open two stores in Virginia (in Chesapeake and Culpeper) and two in North Carolina (Havelock and Wake Forest).  

Sainsbury's will become the first supermarket retailer in the United Kingdom whose stores will be lit entirely by LED lighting.   The retailer is partnering with GE's Current division in an extensive lighting upgrade. Current will upgrade 250,000 LED fixtures across more than 450 Sainsbury's stores, cutting the chain's lighting energy consumption by 58% and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3.4% annually.  

Made-to-measure menswear brand Indochino continues its expansion from the Web into physical retail.       

Sears has opened a freestanding store concept dedicated to two of its strongest categories.     Sears debuted its first store under the Sears Appliances & Mattresses banner, in Pharr, Texas. The format expands the concept of the Sears Appliance store, which opened in Ft. Collins, Colo. in 2016. The location has surpassed projections since its opening, Sears said.  

As a number of traditional chains across the industry continue to struggle, TJX Cos. is being called one of the country’s fastest growing retailers.   Traditional retailers industry-wide are blaming shifting consumer tastes, digital options and new competitors for not only stealing their wallet share, but for declining foot traffic and related sales. However, this could not be farther from the truth for TJX Cos.  

Physical stores still have some key benefits over online retail.  

Sprint continues to expand its presence and investment in Southern California.   The company plans to add more than 550 new jobs and 78 new retail locations throughout the Southland by the end of 2017. The new jobs will include a combination of retail, operations and technical experts. Currently, Sprint operates more than 300 branded retail locations throughout the Southern California region.