Hollister may be competing with Macy’s on Fifth Avenue soon

New York Post
Hollister is working on opening a store at 130 W. 34th St. opposite Macy’s.

The deal may or may not be complete, and it is unclear if the retailer leased the entire multistory building of 22,500 square feet that was being marketed as one unit, or just a floor or two.. . . more

Liberty Tax’s retail buying spree continues

Chain Store Age
Sears Hometown has sold its outlet business to a company with a rapidly expanding retail portfolio.

Liberty Tax announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Sears Hometown’s Outlet business and its group of 41 franchised Buddy’s Home Furnishings stores in an all cash transaction valued at up to approximately $132.9 million.

Liberty is the parent company of Liberty Tax Service and lease-to-own Buddy’s Home Furnishings and is in the process of acquiring The Vitamin Shoppe. The acquisitions are part of Liberty’s ongoing strategy to transform itself from a tax services business to an investment company specializing in franchised and related businesses. . . . more

Chico’s swings to Q2 loss; White House Black Market falls but Soma shines

Chain Store Age
Chico’s FAS’s continued to struggle in the second quarter amid plunging sales at White House | Black Market and a better-than-expected performance by its lingerie brand, Soma.

Revenue fell 6.7% to $508.4 million, below the $513.0 million analysts had estimated. The decrease was driven by a total same-store sales decline of 6.1%, more than the Street expected, as well as the impact of 53 net store closures since last year’s second quarter, the company said.

By brand, same-store sales fell 16.1% at White House Black Market and 5.6% at Chico’s. Same-store sales rose 10.9% at Soma. . . . more

Walmart's biggest-ever holiday toy list is dominated by kid influencers

Yahoo Finance
Walmart posted its biggest ever "hottest toy" list for the holidays yesterday.

The world's largest retailer dropped a list with 48 toys, rated by kids who tested and played with hundreds of products. The collection includes dolls, scooters, and games.

This season, Walmart will increase its exclusive toy offering in stores and online by 25% — and is adding over 40 new toys from kid-influencer brands.. . . more

Amazon appears to be cutting prices at Whole Foods again

CNBC
Amazon appears to be cutting back prices at Whole Foods again, after rolling out a broader price hike earlier this year.

As of August, Whole Foods prices are down roughly 2.5% on average compared with last year, according to a note published by Morgan Stanley on Tuesday. The drop in price follows a 3% price increase in the first three months of this year, the note said.. . . more

Boston Gaining On New York, San Francisco As Foreign Investors’ Market Of Choice

Bisnow
While the largest destinations for cross-border capital into the U.S. have lost momentum in recent years, Boston is gaining ground. . . more

Has the Last Remaining Tannery Store Finally Closed?

Boston Magazine
The store's owner had been battling bankruptcy, lawsuits, and discrimination charges. Now it looks like time to find a new place to score killer deals on heels.. . . more

Flywheel To Close 11 Studios

SGB Media
Flywheel Sports, the spin chain, is closing 11 of its 42 locations. The closings were reported in an e-mail to membership holders. . . . more

Target on track to remodel 1,000 stores by end of 2020

CSA
Target Corp. has passed two big store milestones.

The discounter recently cut the ribbon on its 100th small-format store, and also surpassed its 500th store remodel. And it’s not done yet: Target said it’s on track to remodel 1,000 stores by the end of 2020. . . . more

Krispy Kreme's Sweet Redesign Marks the Beginning of a New Era

QSR
Just outside of the main entrance of Krispy Kreme’s new store in Concord, North Carolina, sits a massive pink doughnut covered with sprinkles. This bright, Instagramable feature—which doubles as a patio bench—is just one of the new interactive features incorporated into the store’s innovative redesign. . . . more

BJ’s Wholesale Club expanding its retail footprint

CSA
BJ’s Wholesale Club continues to venture beyond its Northeast home base.

The warehouse club operator will open two new stores, including BJ’s Gas, in early 2020, in Pensacola, Fla. and Chesterfield, Mich. BJ’s is on track to to open its first two locations in Michigan this fall, in Taylor, and Madison Heights. The Pensacola location will be the company’s 33rd site in Florida. . . . more

Why more retailers who own their stores are doing sale-leasebacks

CSA
Is the chain you work for, like so many retail chains today, looking to lift net earnings in a challenging environment?

One thing to consider heavily if yours is a chain that owns a lot of its own properties is the sale-leaseback. A sale-leaseback is exactly what it sounds like: You sell your property, but you immediately lease it from the buyer so you can continue to operate your business. Why would you sell a property you still need to use? Generally speaking, you either want to get cash back out of your investment, possibly to put back into your business, or you want to end the headache that sometimes comes with owning the property where your business is located. . . . more

New Bedford set to get new 10,000-square-foot retail store

SouthCoast Today
The new Family Dollar on Orchard Street could be getting a new neighbor, but it’s unclear who exactly that would be. The city’s Planning Board has approved a site plan for the construction of a 10,000-square-foot retail store on the vacant lot directly adjacent to the dollar store, but no intended tenant is listed.

The site, which was previously part of a Goodyear Tire manufacturing facility, is set to be purchased by Lisciotti Development Corp., according to the site plan review application.. . . more

Costco hopes to succeed where other foreign retail giants failed by opening first Chinese store

South China Morning Post
The US retail giant Costco is diving into the thorny area of food retail in China with its first store opening this week, but analysts warn it faces a tough ride as it looks to succeed where a series of international retailers have failed.

China has proved a brutal battleground for overseas food retailers in recent years, with many failing to understand consumer habits and tastes and facing strong competition from local companies.. . . more

Forever 21 hires disposition company

Chain Store Age
The trendy mall teen fashion shop whose trendiness appears on the wane has hired RCS Real Estate Advisors to help it re-evaluate its 815-store portfolio.

Forever 21, a favorite of teen girls for most of the last decade, is suffering from a severe drop in traffic and is looking at closing under-performing locations and filing for bankruptcy.. . . more

Target teaming up with Disney for new in-store experience

Chain Store Age
Target Corp. is looking to bring the magic of Disney to its stores and e-commerce site via a pilot with the entertainment giant.

The discounter plans to open dedicated Disney Stores at 25 Target locations on October 4, with 40 more opening by October 2020. The in-store shops will feature more than 450 items, including toys, games, apparel and accessories —with more than 100 products that were previously only available at Disney retail locations. . . . more

Barneys exec explains why it's keeping the Madison Avenue flagship

Retail Dive
Just a few weeks after Barneys New York filed for bankruptcy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer and Executive Vice President Katherine Bahamonde Monasebian discussed some of the problems that forced the company into that position in the first place.

"Department stores used to be, in their heyday, the emporium. They were the center of the community. They were the place you went to find what you needed, perfectly curated. There was no retail without department stores," Monasebian said during a panel at the eTail East conference this week, noting that the model has had to evolve in a period of change. . . . more

Ross posts 6% sales increase, opens 27 stores in Q2

Retail Dive
Ross Stores second quarter sales grew nearly 6.5% year over year to nearly $4 billion as comparable-store sales rose 3%, against a tough comparison of 5% a year ago, the company said in a press release.

The off-price retailer opened a net of 27 stores between the end of Q1 and Q2. The company was on track to open 22 Ross and six dd's Discount stores in the quarter, with plans to add a total of about 100 this year, including 75 Ross locations, executives said Thursday.. . . more

Social media is making it even harder to work in stores and restaurants

Business Insider
You've probably seen the footage. A group descends on a local Walmart, Home Depot, or Target, intent on sowing chaos. The next thing you know, people are scaling the store's shelving, tossing themselves into displays, kicking around merchandise, incurring the ire of managers, and, occasionally, reducing employees to tears.

Of course, you're not watching the work of an out-of-control mob or an anti-retail vandal crew or some sort of destructive organized crime ring. These are social media creators at work. They're just looking for good content, and sometimes that means getting kicked out of a retailer or restaurant chain with a household name.. . . more

Foot Locker goes off track again in Q2

Chain Store Age
Foot Locker turned in a disappointing second-quarter performance with earnings and sales that missed expectations.

Sales fell 0.4% to $1.77 billion, below analysts’ estimates of $1.82 billion. Same-store sales edged up 0.8%, also below estimates. . . . more