STORE SPACES

New York -- Chain Store Age and IFTI will present a free webinar on moisture-related flooring problems on Thursday, April 24, at 2 p.m. ET. Industry expert Lee Eliseian will share insights on the critical role concrete-slab moisture testing plays in preventing flooring failures and offer tips on how to avoid the financial impact and headache of such failures.

Click here for more information and to register.

New York -- Tesco Plc plans to bring its value-priced F&F clothing format to the United States, opening seven stores on the East Coast this year with its U.S. franchise partner, Retail Group of America. The move comes some six months after Tesco sold off its struggling American supermarket operation, Fresh & Easy, to Ron Burkle's Yucaipa investment company.

Hong Kong -- Coach announced that it has retained Studio Sofield, led by designer and president William Sofield, as creative advisor in the development of the company's next generation retail concept.

The new concept will be unveiled in fall 2014, with the company's 4,000-sq.-ft. flagship in Beverly Hills, Calif., followed by the Coach store at the Time Warner Center in New York City (5,335 sq. ft.).

New York -- Online jewelry retailer BaubleBar on Monday opened 35 pop-up shops in select Nordstrom locations. The ‘Nordstrom Loves BaubleBar’ pop-up features new and exclusive items from brand, with the collection priced between $24 and $68.

New York -- The second floor of Uniqlo’s Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan has been transformed in conjunction with the launch of the retailer’s SPRZ NY collection, done in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art. The renovated floor includes the addition of a full-service Starbucks (a first for Uniqlo).

New York -- Francesca’s, Maurices and tween/teen fave Five Below are in an expansion mode.

Francesca’s, based in Houston, will open about 85 stores this year, down slightly from 91 openings last year.   

New York -- By 2025, most retail lighting will be LED, or light-emitting diode, according to lighting expert Dr. Laura Priestwood Thompson, director of the TCU Center for Lighting Education, Texas Christian University.

“The majority of interior retail lighting in 2025 will be LED. This includes retrofitting and new construction,” Dr. Thompson told attendees as Chain Store Age’s 50th annual SPECS conference in Grapevine, Texas.

Monterrey, Mexico -- Tiendas Soriana S.A. de C.V., Mexico’s second largest retail company, and Hanwha Q CELLS, a leading full-service solar power companies, announced a 20-year power purchase agreement for 31 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) solar power at 120 retail locations across Mexico that will create significant long-term energy savings for Soriana. Soriana operates more than 640 grocery and department stores.