Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/231459
house Givenchy is planning for 26 stores internationally, with London, Milan, Rome, Las Vegas, Miami and New York City high on the radar. Givenchy will continue to expand in China, Southeast Asia and Japan. Europe accounts for 42 percent of the chain's business. The Middle East is a target of the 4,300-store Tim Hortons donut chain, of Canada. Already present in the Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, the company is looking at Bahrain, Qatar and elsewhere in a licensing agreement that will yield 100 stores over the next few years. Among deterrents to worldwide retail expansion are the still-tight credit markets, particularly in Europe and the U.S. "We have a long way to go with loosening the purse strings on credit," said Velocity Retail's Cheatham, "which would allow for additional expansion on all fronts." SCT J.Crew opened a european flagship store on london's regent street, in november. • Dillard's will open a 126,000-squarefoot store in the second phase of CBL & Associates Properties' and Stirling Properties' Fremaux Town Center, in Slidell, La., in the spring of 2015. The first phase is under construction, with approximately 330,000 square feet anchored by Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kohl's, Michaels, and T.J.Maxx. The second phase will include up to 320,000 square feet of additional retail space. The grand opening for the first phase is scheduled for March 2014, with construction on the next phase set for about that same time. • Bloomingdale's will open a 167,000-square-foot, three-level store at General Growth Properties' Ala Moana Center, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in late 2015. The department store will serve as the centerpiece of a major retail expansion and common-area renovation at the property. To accommodate the new Bloomingdale's, the center's former Sears building will be demolished and transformed into 650,000 square feet of new retail, including the Bloomingdale's, plus large-format retailers and dining and entertainment space, and 200,000 square feet of in-line retailers. • Just when many retailers are downsizing their store dimensions, Urban Outfitters may begin going the other way, CEO Richard Hayne said on a conference call with investors. Data culled from the company's e-commerce operations indicate that consumers want a wider range of products in stores, he said. "We think there's an opportunity to make the stores larger," he said. "I know that goes against conventional wisdom that stores should shrink as the direct channel increases, but what we are learning is that the customer is responding to the brand across many categories of product. And as we expand the product offering and the category offering, she is liking what we do and is responding to it. So I think that that's our biggest opportunity, both in direct sales and in the stores." J an uar y 201 4 / SCT SCT 35