REAL ESTATE

Fast-casual concept has big ambitions
A start-up that specializes in melted-sandwiches made from high-quality ingredients is looking to go nationwide. Melt Shop hopes to grow to 100 locations during the next five years across the U.S. and internationally via franchising, The brand, founded in 2011 in New York, currently operates six corporate-owned locations in New York, one at Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn., and one in King of Prussia, Pa. It recently expanded into the Middle East and will open seven locations in the region, with four opening in Kuwait by March 2018.
Muji continues U.S. store expansion
A Japanese lifestyle brand with a devoted following has opened an outpost in one of New York City's most hip neighborhoods that will serve as a model for future expansion. Muji has opened a 7,300-sq.-ft. store in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. It is the retailer’s seventh store in the greater New York City area. In addition to New York, Muji has six locations in California, one in New Jersey and one in Boston. It plans to add more U.S. stores next year.

Howard Hughes CEO re-ups for 10 years

David Weinreb, who took The Howard Hughes Corporation public, will now take the company well into the next decade. The Dallas-based company announced it has entered into a new employment agreement with Weinreb that runs through 2027. As part of the deal, Weinreb completed the acquisition of nearly two million stock warrants in the company at a cost of $50 million.
PREIT sells Altoona mall for $33 million

PREIT, which has long been pursuing a strategy of unloading underperforming malls from its portfolio, announced it has sold the Logan Valley Mall for $33.2 million net of credits issued to the buyer. The new owner’s identity was not released. The Altoona, Pennsylvania, mall -- anchored by Macy's, J.C. Penney and Sears -- had been turning in sales-per-square-foot of $324 versus an average of $475 for the rest of the PREIT portfolio.
Amazon on hunt for location to build a second North American headquarters

The search is on for Amazon. The e-commerce giant is currently evaluating where it will open its second company headquarters in North America. The new office, referred to as "HQ2," will be a complete headquarters — not a satellite office. It also could have a similar layout to Amazon's Seattle campus, which employs 40,000 people, and encompasses 8.1 million sq. ft. with 33 buildings, including 24 restaurants.
Largest U.S. hockey retailer launches store rebranding

Pure Hockey is converting its various store banners to its namesake brand. The company, which owns the Pure Hockey, Total Hockey, and HockeyGiant brands, will begin rebranding all of its retail stores as Pure Hockey. Pure Hockey acquired HockeyGiant in September 2015 and acquired Total Hockey in August 2016, giving the company a total of 53 retail locations across the United States, along with four e-commerce sites specializing in hockey, goalie, and lacrosse equipment.
Report: The cities that line up with Amazon's headquarters criteria are...

It didn't take long for cities across North America to throw their hat in the ring when Amazon announced it had initiated a search for a city in which to build a second headquarters. In seeking proposals, Amazon laid out some very definite criteria, including population requirements (one million or more). CNBC examined the criteria and suggested that five cities are worthy of a close look by Amazon: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston.
Gap Inc. shifting focus—and store footprint—to two brands

Gap Inc. is shifting its emphasis to its two best-performing brands — and realigning its store portfolio to reflect its new emphasis.
First Look: Amazon Books, Manhattan

Eleven and counting. That's where Amazon Books stands with the opening of its newest outpost.
New stores fuel online growth

Brick-and-mortar stores are crucial to supporting a retailer's e-commerce growth.