Personnel Updates:
Recreational Equipment Inc. named Jerry Stritzke, previously President and COO of Coach, as its CEO.
Mergers and Acquisitions:
Neiman Marcus Inc. will be bought by Ares Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Industry Insight:
David’s Bridal will open a London flagship this fall, marking the retailer’s first store outside of North America. The 10,000 sq. ft. store will open at Westfield Stratford City, in east London, on Oct. 3.
DSW Inc. plans to test a store format this fall that is roughly half the size of the DSW you’re used to shopping. The test stores will be around 10,000 sq. ft. The average DSW is 22,000 sq. ft. The company expects to open 30 stores in 2013, including the two small shops.
Express Inc. will launch an outlet business in the second quarter of 2014.
Nordstrom Inc. is expanding its partnership with Topshop and Topman. The expansion will include 28 Topshop departments and eight Topman departments, bringing the total number of Nordstrom stores with Topshop and Topman to 42 and 18, respectively.
Tom Ford has renovated its original New York flagship. The previously 8,680 sq. ft. Madison Avenue store is now more than 13,000 sq. ft.
Real Estate:
Bass Pro Shops opened a new store in Tallahassee, FL. Bass Pro Shops has plans for a store in St. Johns County that would open next year. Its next openings will be in Palm Bay and Port St. Lucie, with Tampa, Daytona Beach and Orlando on the line.
Dick’s Sporting Goods has opened a new store in Tallahassee, FL and Duluth, MN.
Francesca’s Holdings Corp. is on track to open 11 new stores during the third quarter of this year, and a total of 87 new stores during fiscal 2013.
Gap Inc. plans to open its first franchise-operated Old Navy stores in the Philippines and its first Shanghai Old Navy store both in the first half of 2014. The company also announced that it is bringing the Gap brand to Taiwan with its first store opening in the first half of 2014. Additionally, Gap will open six new Athleta stores in the second quarter.
H&M is building its largest-ever global store in New York’s Herald Center. The 63,000 sq. ft., four-level flagship will open in fall 2014. Earlier this year, the retailer said it was opening 10 stores in cities such as Chicago; Washington, D.C.; New Orleans and Honolulu. The company also announced it will open a store in South Africa. The store, which is scheduled to open in 2015 at the earliest, will be a full-concept flagship.
Hermes will open a newly renovated 12,000 sq. ft. flagship store in Beverly Hills, CA. Other planned stores include a 4,100 sq. ft. unit at the Buckhead Atlanta and a 12,000 sq. ft. flagship that will open in fall 2014 in Miami’s Design District.
Michael Kors has signed a lease for a new store in Albany, NY. The new store will be located at Crossgates Mall. Michael Kors is the second prominent retailer to announce plans to head to Crossgates Mall since Lord & Taylor announced that it would open a 100,000 sq. ft. store next fall.
Modell’s Sporting Goods will celebrate the grand opening of two of its newest locations on Aug. 30. The new stores are located in Huntington Shopping Center, Huntington Station, NY, and in Fivetowns Shopping Center, Rosedale, NY. Both locations are on Long Island.
UNIQLO will open 10 U.S. stores this fall. The new locations include: Bridgewater Commons Mall in Bridgewater, NJ; Menlo Park Mall in Edison, NJ; Atlantic Terminal Mall in Brooklyn, NY; Staten Island Mall in Staten Island, NY; Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, NY; Trumbull Shopping Center in Trumbull, CT; Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, CA; Westfield Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara, CA; Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco, CA; and Bay Street in Emeryville, CA.
