REAL ESTATE

Phillips Edison appoints VP of Community Partnerships
Salt Lake City -- Phillips Edison & Company announced it has promoted Scott Adair to VP of Community Partnerships, effective immediately. Adair, who previously served as assistant director of Property Management, will remain based in Salt Lake City.

In his new role, created as a result of the company’s Innovation Labs’ ‘Community Engagement Initiative,’ Adair is responsible for cultivating new and managing existing relationships with community leaders to build goodwill and advance business objectives.
H&M’s brick-and-mortar expansion continues at torrid pace
H&M isn’t letting a challenging retail environment stand in the way of its physical expansion.

The Swedish retail powerhouse plans to open 425 stores in 2016, with a focus on expansion in the United States and China. The company will also enter several new markets this year, including New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Cyprus.

In addition, the chain will expand its e-commerce site to several markets, including Ireland, Japan, and Greece.

At the close of its fiscal year, H&M operated 3,924 stores in 61 markets.

Sears store opens in an Ace Hardware

So far this year, four Sears Hometown Stores have opened around the country. Of particular interest is the opening in Selma, California -- inside a hardware store.

On Jan. 28, California Sears Hometown Store opened inside the Nelson Ace Hardware store in Selma.
Nordstrom to open second, smaller store in Manhattan

Nordstrom isn't satisfied with just one location in the Big Apple.
'Disneyland of supermarkets' to open another N.Y. store

Popular Northeast grocer Stew Leonard's is planning to open a 70,000-sq.-ft. store in Long Island this year.

Construction on the new store will start this summer with an anticipated opening date of mid-2017, the company said. Earlier this month, Stew Leonard’s opened its first Long Island store in Farmingdale’s Airport Plaza on Route 110.

The family-owned and operated grocery chain was founded as a dairy store in 1969 in Norwalk, Conn.
Chef Christian Petroni to bring renowned Italian restaurant to Downtown Brooklyn

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Acadia Realty Trust and Washington Square Partners, co-developers of City Point, announced that Fortina, the Italian restaurant of chef, Christian Petroni, signed a 15-year, 4,612-sq. ft. lease, at the 1.8 million-sq. ft. mixed-use project in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.
CBRE hires global executive of Retail Occupier, EMEA

London -- CBRE Group Inc. has appointed Mark Burlton as Global Executive of its Retail Occupier team, EMEA. Burlton will lead the development of CBRE’s Retail Occupier business in Europe, as well as advising its European retail clients on expansion into the US and Asia, and international retailers into Europe.

Burlton will be based in London and work closely with Peter Gold, head of cross border retail, EMEA and David Close, senior director, EMEA occupier cross border. He will also join CBRE’s Global Retail Executive Group.
X Team International expands into San Antonio with new partner

San Antonio, Texas -- X Team International, an international alliance of retail real estate advisors with expertise in more than 45 major markets throughout the U.S. and Canada, announced that it has welcomed San Antonio-based REATA Real Estate as its newest partner.
American Dream mega-mall adds huge Primark store

The American Dream mall will encompass three million square feet when it opens in northern New Jersey in 2017 and occupying 100,000 sq. ft. of that space will be fashion retailer Primark.
Convenience stores keep advancing

Despite plummeting fuel prices, the ranks of convenience stores swelled to a record level last year.

The U.S. convenience store count increased to 154,195 stores as of Dec. 31, a 0.9% increase (1,401 stores) from the year prior, according to the 2016 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Industry Store Count.