STORE SPACES

Three Tech-Themed Sessions at SPECS
Chain Store’s Age’s 51st annual SPECS Conference starts on March 15, at the Sands Expo at the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas. The conference is focused on store planning/design, equipment, construction and facility services — all areas where technology is beginning to play an increasingly important role. Here are three SPECS sessions where the role of technology will be highlighted:

Nadia Shourabora
First Martha Stewart Café opening in New York
New York - Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is opening its first Martha Stewart Cafe, in the Starrett-Lehigh building, home to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's corporate headquarters. The cafe will offer handcrafted espresso beverages and teas.

The menu, personally curated by Martha Stewart, will serve hot beverages, cold-brew iced coffee, artisanal loose-leaf teas, and pastries. The cafe is partnering with Kobrick Coffee, a New York City-based and family-owned roaster, and Wei Bertram of Connecticut-based Arogya Tea,

C-Spire Wireless puts a fresh spin on wireless retail

Dayton, Ohio -- C-Spire Wireless is looking to redefine wireless shopping with a hands-in, interactive experience in an environment that challenges industry conventions.
Walmart to share LED lighting insights at SPECS

New York -- From parking lots to refrigerated cases, Walmart has helped pioneer the use of LED lighting. And the discounter shows no signs of stopping, having recently made headlines with its use of solid-state ceiling lighting. Walmart will share insights and learnings gained from its LED lighting deployments at Chain Store Age’s 51st annual SPECS Conference, March 15 – 17, Sands Expo at the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas.
T2, New York

Australian specialty tea retailer T2 has made its U.S. debut, opening a store in the heart of Manhattan's Soho neighborhood. The shop stocks over 200 teas from around the globe along with an extensive assortment of teapots, cups, sifters and other related items.
Insights: Focus on Forever 21’s new format, F21 red

For Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21, the journey from a single location on Figueroa Street in L.A. in 1984 to more than 680 global locations today has been transformative. Over the last three decades, the brand has not shied away from innovation and experimentation, implementing a range of different store sizes and concepts along the way: from smaller 5,000-sq.-ft. layouts in its early years, to larger 9,000-sq.-ft. concepts in the 2000s and a range of big-box stores that range up to 40,000 sq. ft.
Fitch names Hermann Behrens to new post of CEO, North American

New York -- Retail and brand consultancy Fitch has appointed Hermann Behrens to the newly created role of CEO, North America, effective immediately. Behrens will lead the business out of Fitch’s newly established office in New York.

Behrens will be responsible for expanding Fitch’s reputation and client base in North America. He will work closely with the management teams at the company’s design studio in Columbus, Ohio and its architecture and engineering practices in Phoenix, Atlanta and Irvine.
Store Design: Quantifying the bottom line results

New York -- Retailers who take a holistic approach to measuring the benefits of new store designs are most successful in accurately quantifying the bottom-line results, according to new research from EWI Worldwide and A.R.E. (the Association for Retail Environments).
Reinventing brick-and-mortar retail hot topic at SPECS 2015

New York -- One of the most buzzed-about retailers in the country, Nadia Shouraboura, will present her singular vision of retailing in a digital age at Chain Store Age’s 51st annual SPECS Conference, March 15-17, 2015, at Sands Expo at the Venetial/Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas.
Swarovski, Las Vegas