Five Below Sales Up, More Stores Coming A strong Q2 where the company saw sales rise 15.2% is in line with their guidance despite the retailer warning of shrink increases. Five Below has opened 40 stores across 24 states in Q2 and remains on track to open more than 200 stores while converting 400 existing stores to its new Five Beyond format. (Chain Store Age 8/31) [Read]

TJX Shares Jump on Strong Consumer Traffic Both revenue and earnings per share exceeded forecasts for TJX Companies as well as comparable store sales in Q2. Revenue increased 8% while store sales rose 6%, driven heavily by increased customer traffic. The company’s CEO, Ernie Hermann, also says that the company is off to a strong start to Q3. (MSN 8/18) [Read]

Ace Hardware Looks to Expand Further The retailer-owned hardware store has already opened 100 new stores this year, but that is not stopping them from announcing that they intend to open an additional 70 stores by the start of the new year. Ace has opened more than 1,100 locations in the past 5 years and currently has more than 5,800 stores in 60 countries and all 50 states. (Chain Store Age 8/22) [Read]

Fresh Market to Expand in 2024-2025 After opening 1 new store in Q2 this year, the company has stated that they intend to open 22 new stores in the next 2 years as they look to build on the current 159 stores operating in 22 states. Revenues in Q2 rose 12.9%, the 9^th consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth. (Retail Leader 8/29) [Read]

Lululemon Increases Store Opening Plans The athletics retailer has continued to outperform others in the industry and their double-digit profit growth is fueling plans to expand their footprint. In Q2 this year, Lululemon outperformed as revenue rose 18% year over year and operating income grew 19%. Overall, gross profit was up 23%, which has led the company to up its store opening plans for the year from 50 new stores to 55 new stores by the end of the year. (Retail Dive 9/1) [Read]

JCPenney to Invest $1B on Upgrades As the company struggles to stay relevant, they have announced that they will be spending more than $1B by the end of 2025 to remodel stores, upgrade their online shopping, and improve supply chain capabilities for faster online order fulfillment. The investment is designed to fuel long-term growth and increase customer loyalty. JCPenney’s CEO, Mark Rosen, emphasized that the investment is self-funded, and the company will not be taking on any additional debt. (Chain Store Age 8/31) [Read]

Walmart runs Strong in Q2 The retailer outperformed their Q2 estimates as they continue to appeal to cost-conscious customers. The company has raised their stock’s target price from $173 per share to $190 per share and analysts are bullish on the stock. Walmart aims to continue their strong performance and pick up additional market share. (Proactive Investors 8/18) [Read]

Amazon, Walmart Expected to Earn Most AI Profit According to research from IHL Group, Amazon and Walmart have the potential to earn up to $580B in additional profit through the implementation of artificial intelligence. AI is expected to drive profits up through capabilities to improve such B2C e-commerce, analytics, and inventory ordering and management. (Supermarket News 8/18) [Read]

New BuyBuy Baby and Harmon Owners Plot Return The two bankrupt brands had stores go dark but, after being purchased in bankruptcy, both stores are on track to make a return to brick-and-mortar. Baby goods company, Dream on Me, bought BuyBuy Baby’s intellectual property in July and has plans to reopen 11 stores in the northeast as early as this fall while aiming to open 100 to 120 stores in the next 1-3 years. While Harmon was bought by an investor who plans to reopen 5 of the best-performing stores by the end of the year. (Chain Store Age 8/17) [Read]

Party City to Exit Chapter 11 Bankruptcy The company has received the green light for its restructuring plan that will allow them to emerge with a leaner balance sheet, reducing their debt by nearly $1B. Party City plans to move forward with a more “profitable” store footprint, consisting of nearly 800 locations nationwide, after negotiating improved lease terms and exiting less productive locations. (Chain Store Age 9/7) [Read]

Subway Acquired for $9.6B The 58-year-old sandwich giant has finally found a buyer in the affiliates of Roark Capital. Subway had initially announced they were exploring a possible sale in February of this year, and now have agreed to what is one of the largest deals in the fast-food industry. (Chain Store Age 8/24) [Read]

Big Lots Sees Mixed Results After reporting a Q2 net loss of $250M and seeing net sales drop 15.4% year over year, Big Lots still has confidence in the improvements they have begun to make this year. Through cost reductions and productivity improvements, the company believes they are on track to meet their structural savings goal of over $100M in 2023. (Chain Store Age 8/29) [Read]

HomeSense Opens 4 New Stores The brand, with 154 stores in Canada and 79 in Europe, is expanding in the U.S. with four new stores including two in Florida at Sawgrass Mills Mall and The Shoppes at New Tampa. HomeSense currently has 51 U.S. locations. (Chain Store Age 8/31) [Read]

Dick’s Shares Fall as Theft Concerns Rise Dick’s Sporting Goods reported a profit drop and cut their earnings outlook for the year after seeing an increase in retail theft and slow sales in their outdoor category. The company reported a 23% drop in profits because of stolen inventory and aggressive markdowns to clear out excess inventory. (CNBC 8/22) [Read]

Kimco Acquires RPT Realty for $2B The all-stock deal is expected to raise Kimco’s pro forma equity market capitalization to $13B as Kimco adds 56 open-air shopping centers to its portfolio. The total gross leasable area of that 56-property portfolio is 13.3M square feet. Kimco will also add RPT’s 6% stake in a 49-property joint venture portfolio. (The Real Deal 8/28) [Read]

Shadowwood Square Sells for $88M Cushman & Wakefield arranged the sale of the 237,000-square-foot center anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, Walgreens, and Old Navy. An affiliate of Edens acquired the property in the sale. (Shopping Center Business 8/17) [Read]

16000 Pines Market Sells for $56M The affiliate of Apollo Global Management acquired the 135,000 square foot shopping center from Terra Group for $56M after its redevelopment was completed this year. Cushman & Wakefield represented Terra in the sale. (Bisnow 8/31) [Read]

Open-Air Center Demand Rises as Vacancy Dips Despite the retail bankruptcy acceleration in the first half of the year, year-over-year openings are outpacing closings and vacant boxes are being filled by expanding retailers. Open-air retail demand nearly tripled in Q2 this year as vacancies compress and rent growth continues. Q2 showed open-air retail net absorption jump to 6.4M square feet. (JLL 8/17) [Read]

Florida Remains a Destination for Expanding Retailers Dozens of retailers from fast casual restaurant chains to gym franchisees are continuing to show a strong interest in Florida as a place to expand their footprints and debut new concepts. However, cost of construction and the insurance crisis in Florida has others skeptical of the momentum Florida has had since the start of the pandemic. (Business Observer 9/5) [Read]