Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/231459
• More U.S. retailers are coming to Latin America. RadioShack will be returning this year to Chile, where it plans to open six stores in Santiago's main shopping centers. Its goal is to have at least 75 stores in Chile in 10 years' time, according to Rash Perú, which also owns the RadioShack franchise rights for Peru and Bolivia. RadioShack last operated in Chile between 1992 and 2004. Elsewhere, the Grupo Gigante retailing group, operator of Office Depot and The Home Store in Mexico, announced that it would be opening at least 50 Petco stores in Mexico over the next seven years. The first two opened at the end of 2013 in Guadalajara and Mexico City. Meanwhile, Aeropostale arrived in Latin America last August with a store in Cacique El Centro Comercial, in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Two others followed in Bogotá, at Centro Comercial Andino and Salitre Plaza Centro Comercial. The firm's goal is to have as many as 40 companyowned stores in Latin America within five years. The chain signed a deal in Mexico this year to sell its merchandise at Liverpool's 94 department stores. Gap opened its first Brazil store in September, at São Paulo's JK Iguatemi, and another a month later at Shopping Morumbi, also in São Paulo. Another U.S. retailer, Forever 21, arrived in Brazil at the end of 2013, opening a store in Shopping Morumbi. In El Salvador the retailer unveiled its first store in November at Multiplaza San Salvador. 34 SC T / J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 Sephora and Topshop enter its market. The softening Brazilian economy has not deterred luxury retailers Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Lacoste, Miu Miu and Prada from aggressive expansion there either. "There's strong pent-up demand for luxury goods in secondtier [Brazilian] cities where the malls are opening," said Rob Walker, an analyst with Euromonitor International. Brazil's food-and-beverage sector has a hearty piece of the retail pie — of some 50 chains opening their first units in Brazil last year, about half were restaurants, according to Colliers. Retail expansion in China continues despite economic challenges. Apparel sales rose just 6.1 percent through the first three quarters of last year, the lowest gain of the past decade. Expansion by luxury brands has slowed in China, though some midtier retailers, food-and-beverage operators and new-to-market brands are still expanding, says Jones Lang LaSalle. Walmart is gearing up to build 110 China stores over the next three years but will also be closing 25 underperformers. Old Navy and Microsoft say they plan to enter China this year, and GNC will add on 26 stores. Demand for retail space in most Asian markets will remain healthy this year, Jones Lang LaSalle says. Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids will be the first of WilliamsSonoma's brands to make a debut in the Philippines this year, in Manila. The company will also be expanding in London, Australia and the Middle East. Lotto Sport Italia plans to open 16 stores in India, a country that continues to suffer a 20 percent retail vacancy rate. In Auckland, New Zealand, the Prada and Christian Dior chains will open flagship stores in the third quarter, according to Colliers. Luxury apparel seller Michael Kors is in the process of opening 100 new stores internationally, including 40 in Europe. The company is aggressively expanding its 30-store Japan presence, which it believes can support as many as 100. In some locations Michael Kors is doubling its store size to about 5,000 square feet. The company says its North American sales rose 31 percent year on year in its fiscal second quarter (ended Sept. 28), while its sales in Europe doubled. Fifty retailers entered Germany last year, and 20 more are queuing up for this year, according to CBRE. Among these are Coach, Pull & Bear and Marc Jacobs. Uniqlo says it plans to enter Germany with a flagship in Berlin this spring. European retail is showing modest signs of recovery, with 1.1 percent growth projected for this year, according to commercial realtor DTZ. Forever 21 is set to launch its first Russia store in the main atrium of Moscow's Afimall City early this year, a two-level store the company says will be the first of many in Russia. Ukrainian gas retailer WOG is planning to expand the number of its stations by 20 percent, to about 600. Greece is attracting investment once again, with H&M; opening two flagships: one in Piraeus, and the other in Thessaloniki. Hema, Uniqlo and Urban Outfitters are site-seeking in Spain, according to CBRE, while Philip Lim is planning a second department store in London. As in the U.S., a lack of new development in mature European markets is spurring shopping center owners and tenants to reinvest heavily in existing spaces, says Kornberg. French luxury fashion