REAL ESTATE

Puerto Rican shoe chain makes U.S. debut at Pembroke Lakes
Novus, the shoe retailer with 40 years’ experience and 60 stores in Puerto Rico, has opened its first stateside location at Florida’s Pembroke Lakes Mall. “Novus is aware of the importance of the South Florida market and the large Puerto Rican population of more than 300,000 currently residing in the area that has a close identification with the brand,” said Grupo Novus Marketing Director Sandra Castellon of the brands first steps into the U.S. market.
Philippines: Bringing green space inside the mall
Lifescapes International, an architectural landscape company that’s responsible for outdoor displays such as the Rockefeller Center Promenade and the Bellagio water show, is testing the boundaries of indoor greenery in the Philippines.

Best Buy opens five appliance outlets

Hoping to bolster sales across its home appliance category, Best Buy opened five outlet locations dedicated to major appliances. The outlet stores are located in San Antonio and Famers Branch, Texas, Raleigh, N.C., Newark, Del., and Moreno Valley, Calif. All five locations opened this month, according to The Dallas News.
LinkedIn expert to lead workshop at SPECS 2017

For more than half a century, Chain Store Age’s annual SPECS conference has delivered one of the retail industry’s most important and impactful events. The 2017 event, to be held March 12-14 at the Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, Florida, will cover a wide range of emerging and evolving issues, focusing on must-see innovations and essential information about trends, topics and technologies that will be impacting the industry for many years to come.
American Apparel gets nod to shutter nine stores

American Apparel’s financial saga is winding down.
Big new entertainment attraction headed to nation’s largest mall

Mall of America is upping its entertainment quotient with a 40,000-sq.-ft. arcade imported from India. Called Smaaash, and co-founded by an entrepreneur from India, the attraction includes a multilevel go-cart track, virtual reality and video games and a restaurant and bar, the Star Tribune reported.
CVS Health to close 70 stores

CVS Health has embarked on a three-step streamlining initiative with a goal of saving approximately $3 billion from 2017 to 2021. Two-thirds of the savings will be seen in CVS’s retail/long-term care segment, with the remaining one-third of savings seen in the pharmacy benefits manager category.
Off-pricer to make Sunshine State debut

Century 21 is expanding into a new market. The New York City-based off-price retailer will open its 12th store to date, and first in the state of Florida, at Sawgrass Mills, in Sunrise. The 85,000-sq.-ft. store will open on Dec. 16. The Florida location will feature the retailer’s C21-On-1 Stylist Program, providing shoppers with the opportunity to book a free one-on-one appointment with a fashion stylist.
Alaska Tale: Center renaissance obsoletes longtime tenant

When the Northern Lights Center in Anchorage, Alaska, was owned by folksy former governor Wally Hickel, things were good for Title Wave Books. The midtown neighborhood was in decline, rent was cheap, and husband-and-wife owners Julie Drake and Steve Lloyd were able to make a living from their low-margin inventory.
Survival guide for stores in the Amazon Jungle

A recent Washington Post article pointed out that Anthropologie posted four straight quarters of flat or declining comparable sales and J. Crew saw comparable sales drop 10% in the last year. Banana Republic has seen a decline in comparable sales for the past 13 months, including a staggering 14% plunge in July. Weak sales numbers have also plagued Gap and Ann Taylor.