Discount and Specialty
Real Estate:
Best Buy announced plans to cut its big-box store square footage by 10 percent during the next three to five years and focus on boosting its online presence.
Disney Store plans to open its interactive concept stores in more than 40 locations in 2011 the company announced today at the Global Retail Real Estate Convention in Las Vegas.  The company said that by the end of 2011, it will have 60 new concept stores in 16 major markets in North America and eight countries.
In spring 2012, the original Disney Store location at the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., will be remodeled to celebrate the retail chain’s 25th anniversary. First built in 1987, the store pioneered the entertainment retail concept. The Glendale store will be just one of many planned remodels in 2012.
New and remodeled Disney Store locations to open throughout the fall and winter of 2011 include:
Disney Store’s Florida Mall location in Orlando will be remodeled this fall with the new design, and Pembroke Lakes Mall in Pembroke Pines, Fla. will open an all-new location.
Locations in Canada’s West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta and Southcentre Mall in Calgary will open this fall.
Kenwood Towne Center in Cincinnati will receive the first newly-designed Disney Store in the state of Ohio.
Texas will celebrate the opening of Disney Store locations at La Plaza mall in McAllen, and Houston Galleria in Houston.
The first newly-designed Disney Store in Missouri will open at the St. Louis Galleria.
California will get two new locations this fall with stores opening in the Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, Calif. and Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Dollar General announced its plans to expand its operations to California in 2012.
The California announcement comes on the heels of the company’s planned expansions into three new states in 2011 — Connecticut, Nevada and New Hampshire.
Marbles: The Brain Store, the Chicago-based retailer that sells toys and other products designed to stimulate and strengthen the brain, announced that it has received $5.5 million from private inve
stors, which the company will use to open 10 stores on the East Coast and in Chicago this year.  Nine of the new shops will be in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland, with one in Chicago, CEO Lindsay Gaskins said. Marbles is looking to expand to the West Coast and the South in 2012.
Target has unveiled the first wave of the Zellers sites it will be taking over in Canada, representing 105 locations in all 10 Canadian provinces.  The vast majority of the sites will become Target stores after securing the necessary construction approval for extensive renovation. The stores will open beginning in 2013.
The majority (45) of the locations are in Ontario, with 19 in Quebec. The other Canadian locations include 15 in British Columbia, 13 in Alberta, five Manitoba, two each in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and one each in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Each selected site is subleased to Zellers and will continue to operate as a Zellers store for some time.  Six to nine months prior to opening as Target stores, the majority of stores will be closed for significant remodeling. On average, about $10 million will be invested in remodeling each location.
Target also announced that its Canadian headquarters will be located in Mississauga, Ontario. The company will occupy about 180,000 sq. ft. in a building that was built to LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold standards and is owned by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. After some remodeling, the majority of Target’s Canadian corporate team will begin occupying the space in early 2012.
Department Stores and Apparel
Real Estate:
Abercrombie & Fitch has renewed its lease, committing to its shop in London for another 10 years and also plans to launch its first childrenswear store in the capital.
Burberry Group announced plans to tear down and replace its Michigan Avenue flagship store in Chicago in favor of a bigger, more dramatic store. During the renovations, the store will move across the street into the Shops at North Bridge. The new store is scheduled to be completed in fall 2012. The company also has revealed that it plans to upgrade its stores in Hong Kong and London.
Cabela’s Inc. announced the opening of its most recent store located on the Tulalip Tribes Indian reservation in Tulalip, WA. The 110,000 sq. ft. store is expected to open in 2012.
Fendi plans to increase its number of stores in China from 16 to 20 by the end of 2012. The new stores will include one in Beijing; one in Tianjin; one in Shenyang; and a second store in Guangzhou. The stores likely will be no more than 6,500 sq.
ft. in size.
Kohl’s Department Stores announced Tuesday that it will create 700 to 800 jobs at its customer service operations center in San Antonio, TX on top of the more than 1,000 positions it previously announced it would fill by 2013. The three-story, 90,000 sq. ft. building is slated to open next spring.
Prada SpA recently announced its plans to open 70 more stores in Asia by 2014, 30 of which will be located in China. Prada hopes to expand into the Middle East, Russia and Brazil.

Foodservice Industry
Real Estate:
Dunkin’ Donuts announced the signing of a multi-unit store development agreement with Travel Mart, Inc. for 6 new restaurants in Wausau, WI.  The first restaurant will open in 2012 and the remaining 5 units will be developed by 2016. Dunkin’ Donuts also plans to open 36 Dunkin’ Donuts in southeast WI over the next 5 years.
Habit Burger Grill plans to open 3 restaurants in metro Phoenix, AZ, this year with long-term development plans for as many as 15 locations. The Arizona restaurants represent Habit’s first outlets outside CA.
Mountain Mudd Espresso announced a development agreement that calls for 24 locations in Morris County, NJ, by 2016. Mountain Mudd is also expanding into CT through a long-term contract with PJP Coffee Enterprises Inc. The first phase of development includes opening 2 Mountain Mudd kiosks in Hartford and Litchfield counties in 2011, with plans to develop 38 additional franchise locations in the state by early 2016.
Naked Pizza is on pace to have 50-75 open stores by the end of 2011 with locations coming to New York City, Washington, DC, Boulder and Denver, CO, and Princeton, NJ. Naked Pizza also recently awarded franchising rights in Philadelphia and Chicago.
Newk’s Express Cafe has started 2011 with a bang, awarding 24 new franchise locations in the first quarter. Four separate groups have committed to opening restaurants in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, FL., Baton Rouge and Lafayette, LA., MI, VA, and Atlanta, GA.
Schlotzsky’s Deli plans to open about 15 restaurants throughout the Orlando, FL, area in the
next 3-5 years.
Smashburger has signed 5 agreements with franchise partners to open 63 new locations in seven states (AL, CT, FL, LA, NY, NC, OH); the new agreements bring the number of planned locations for the restaurant to 463. It plans to open 75 more nationwide by the end of the year.
Steak Escape is beginning an aggressive expansion and remodeling plan designed to move the company away from shopping malls; it plans to open 33 restaurants in central OH during the next 5 years as it expands into freestanding and strip-center locations.
Tijuana Flats plans to open locations in New Tampa and Bradenton, FL, by the end of 2011; the chain plans to open another 4-5 locations in the Tampa Bay area within 18 months.
Tossed announced that it has signed a franchise agreement authorizing the development of 5 new Tossed locations throughout Boston, MA. 
UFood Restaurant Group, Inc. announced the company has contracted with franchisee Manuel Rivera to develop and operate 8 UFood Grills in Puerto Rico. The first of the units is projected to open in fall 2011.
Wingstop has announced a development agreement to open 15 restaurants in Seattle-Tacoma.