STORE SPACES

San Diego -- Walmart has completed its 100th solar installation in California, at a store on College Avenue in San Diego. After launching its solar pilot program in May 2007, Walmart strengthened its commitment to renewable energy in the state of California last year when it announced plans to expand its solar portfolio to more than 75% of its stores in California, approximately 130 stores, by the end of 2013. There are now 100 Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs in California using traditional and thin film solar installations.

Roswell, Ga. -- PGA Tour Superstore announced plans to open a location in Paramus, N.J. The store, scheduled to open later this year, is PGA Tour’s 15th location.

The PGA superstores are owned and operated by Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, whose controlling owner and chairman is Arthur M. Blank, retired Home Depot co-founder and owner of the Atlanta Falcons.

Toronto -- Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Co. said Thursday it will shutter most of the remaining 64 Zellers stores that aren’t being converted to Target locations.

The Zellers parent sold the majority of the leases to Target Corp. last year. Many of the remaining 64 stores are expected to close by March 2013. Those that aren’t closed could potentially open under another retail banner, said Hudson’s Bay.
 

Los Angeles -- American Apparel said Wednesday it has launched three new merchant stores on Amazon Marketplace in the U.K., Germany and Japan.
 
The three new stores follow American Apparel's U.S. deal with Amazon, which launched in 2010.
 
Orders will be processed and shipped from American Apparel's headquarters in downtown Los Angeles and returns will be accepted and processed locally by the company’s offices in those countries.
 

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney announced Wednesday a partnership with Canadian fast-fashion brand Joe Fresh that will see some 700 Joe Fresh in-store boutiques open in J.C. Penney department stores in April 2013.
 

McLean, Va. -- One Loudoun Downtown broke ground on Wednesday with Phase One of the mixed-use development, which will include 210,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurant and office space including an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema scheduled to open 2013.

A joint venture of Miller and Smith and North America Sekisui House, One Loudoun is located within One Loudoun, a 358-acre master-planned community in Loudoun County, Va.

Portland, Ore. -- Office Depot said Tuesday that its downtown Portland store has been remodeled to reflect a smaller footprint and an environmentally friendly design.

As part of an effort to improve the customer shopping experience, Office Depot said it has been rolling out smaller store formats across the U.S., and the newly downsized Portland store – one of the larger formats when it opened 13 years ago – is the first in the Pacific Northwest to follow the trend.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop announced Tuesday that it is introducing a newly imagined store design in six markets across the U.S. in 2012. 

The new store design, which has been over two years in the making, merges the Build-A-Bear Workshop hands-on bear-making process with technology to enhance the customer experience.

“I am very excited about the enhanced features that will allow us to continue to lead in the interactive retail space,” said Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop.