Openings, Closings, & Other Key Industry Highlights

Retail News

Powered by

Premier Source For Location Data

February 17, 2021

 
 
 
 

Aldi plans to open 100 new locations nationwide in 2021 with expansion efforts focused on Arizona, California, Florida and the Northeast. The Company will also break ground on a new regional headquarters and distribution center in Loxley, AL, which will support expansion throughout the Gulf Coast region. The 564,000-square-foot facility is Aldi's sixth distribution center in the Southern U.S. It will service up to 100 stores in Alabama, Southern Georgia, Mississippi, the Florida Panhandle, and Louisiana, which will be the 38th state where Aldi operates. With the distribution center in place, Aldi plans to open as many as 35 new Gulf Coast-area stores by the end of 2022. The first two stores in Tallahassee, FL are slated to open later this year. Aldi expressed plans to further expand its e-commerce offering throughout 2021, and add Curbside Grocery Pickup service to 500 additional stores by the end of the year, bringing availability to more than 1,200 stores. Currently, Aldi has more than 2,000 stores across 37 states in the U.S. Click here for a list of future store openings.

 
 

Amazon Fresh opened a new store in Oak Lawn, IL, marking its third in the state. Click here for a list of Amazon future store openings.

Click here to request a copy of the report which analyzes impactful industry trends in 2021, along with predicted winners, losers, and question marks for each segment.

 
 

Hibbett Sports provided preliminary results for its 4Q21 ended January 30. 4Q comps increased 21.9%, well above its guidance of an increase in the high-single digits to low-double digits. Momentum was sustained from the 3Q throughout the 4Q both in-store and online, as better than anticipated holiday volume and incremental stimulus were major contributors to strong sales. FY21 comps increased 22.2%. 4Q EPS is expected to be $1.30 – $1.40, up from its previous target of $1.00 – $1.10. FY21 EPS is projected to be $4.30 – $4.40. Hibbett also provided a forecast for FY22. Comps are expected to range from negative low-single digits to positive low-single digits. EPS is projected to be $5.00 – $5.50. Full results will be released March 5.

Hibbett Sports also opened a new 5,300 square-foot store in Colonial Heights, VA and a 4,900 square-foot store in Vallejo, CA on February 12. The Company operates nearly 1,100 Hibbett Sports and City Gear stores in 35 states. Click here to request a list of future store openings .

 
 

The Court in the Ruby Tuesday, Inc. bankruptcy case entered an order extending the period by which the Debtors must assume or reject unexpired leases through the earlier of: (i) the entry of an order confirming the Plan of Reorganization; or (ii) May 5, 2021. The previous period expired on February 4, but was automatically extended through the date of the order. The Debtors filed a motion to reject additional leases (click here to request a list). The hearing to consider confirmation of the Plan of Reorganization was rescheduled to today.

 
 

Less than a year after opening in Whittier, CA, Cardenas Market, a grocery catering to the Latino community, closed on February 15. The 34,640 square-foot store was not meeting the Company’s expectations. Cardenas opened in June 2020 on the site of a former Stater Bros. market. A new Stater Bros store is under construction nearby.

 
 

After being forced to close in late May 2020 due to significant damage following civil unrest in the area, Cub Foods has reopened a store in Minneapolis, MN. The reopening also marks the closure of the Cub Community Market, which played a vital role in keeping groceries available to the neighborhood since early July 2020.

 
 

Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to open a new namesake store and four Warehouse Sales discount stores this month. The namesake store is expected to open in Concord, NC on February 27. Two Warehouse Sales locations, in Friendswood, TX and Oklahoma City, OK, open tomorrow, and another two will open in Deer Park, NY and Kissimmee, FL on February 24. Following these openings, Dick’s will have 728 stores nationwide. Warehouse Sales is a new discount concept launched last June, along with the Overtime by Dick’s Sporting Goods concept. Click here to request a list of future store openings and closings.

 
 

In the ascena retail group bankruptcy case, the Debtors filed a motion to reject additional leases (five Ann Taylor stores in Denver, CO, Chestnut Hill, MA, Santa Monica, CA, Chicago, IL, and Washington, DC), and notified the Court they intend to close an additional store, a Lane Bryant in Kennesaw, GA. Click here to request a list of store closures.

 
 

Läderach, a family-owned Switzerland-based chocolatier, signed an asset purchase agreement to take over the leases of 34 Godiva locations across the U.S. Locations are expected to open by the end of Summer 2021, if not sooner. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. As previously reported, Godiva announced in January plans to close or sell its 128 brick-and-mortar locations in North America to focus on its online and retail partner sales. The closures/sales are expected to be completed by the end of March. Läderach operates four stores in the Northeast U.S., including two in Manhattan, NY, one in East Rutherford, NJ, and one in Washington D.C. The Company’s chocolates are produced exclusively in Switzerland, and products are sold in over 100 chocolatier stores in Switzerland, Germany, the U.K., the U.S., and Canada, and through sales partners in the Middle East and Asia. Click here to request a list of store closures.

 
 

Captain D's plans to open 15 restaurants this year throughout Florida, Texas and Utah. In 2020, the Company opened 10 new restaurants across the Southeast and Midwest, including marking its entry into Michigan. Captain D's also said it signed five franchise development agreements throughout 2020 that will bring 17 new restaurants to key markets such as the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX and Atlanta, GA metro areas over the next several years. Captain D's said over the years it has developed a number of prototype options, featuring 62, 44, and 22-seat footprints to cater to the demographics of various markets and available land parcels. In November 2020, Captain D's unveiled its latest restaurant prototype, 'Express,' which features a significantly smaller footprint than its traditional models, consisting only of drive-thru and walk-up windows for ordering and picking up. Click here to request a list of future store openings.

 
 

Macey’s recently held a grand opening for newly remodeled stores in West Valley and West Jordan, UT. The stores, which stand at 50,515 square feet and 66,260 square feet, respectively, also offer online shopping with curbside pickup and delivery.

 
 

Topgolf plans to open a new store in Colorado Springs, CO this summer. This will be the chain’s third venue in Colorado, joining existing locations in Centennial and Thornton. Click here to request a list of store openings.

 
 

JOANN Inc., the nation’s category leader in sewing and fabrics as well as one of the fastest growing players in the arts and crafts industry, announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The offering is subject to market conditions, and provides no assurance as to whether the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size, price or other terms. We detailed in our December 10 Update that JOANN had refinanced its $400.0 million asset-based lending (ABL) facility, increasing it to $500.0 million while extending the maturity through November 2025. This was accomplished following a strong year in which COVID demand for fabrics and hobbies reportedly pushed up sales by about 20% along with a bump in EBITDA. JOANN, which operates 855 stores across 49 States, intends to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol “JOAN.” Click here to request a list of future store openings.

 
 

On Monday, Peapod Digital Labs, Ahold Delhaize USA’s digital, e-commerce and commercial division, announced a new micro-fulfillment technology pilot involving The GIANT Company, Ahold Delhaize’s e-commerce arm in the Philadelphia, PA market. Part of an e-commerce fulfillment center (EFC), the pilot leverages technology developed by Swisslog, a robot technology company, as well as Peapod Digital Labs’ manual picking capabilities, to help meet customer demand in Center City and South Philadelphia. When fully operational, the location is expected to fulfill approximately 15,000 online orders per week for delivery.

Ahold Delhaize will continue other micro-fulfillment tests, such as its pilot with Stop & Shop and TakeOff Technologies in the Hartford, CT market. Additional micro-fulfillment pilots will be announced in the coming months.

As of March 1, 2021, Ahold Delhaize USA’s supply chain will include 18 self-managed traditional distribution centers, 28 EFCs and over 1,100 click and collect locations. By 2023, this network will increase to more than 27 distribution centers with additional EFC and click and collect growth as part of the overall transformation of the omnichannel supply chain. Click here to request a list of future store openings.

 
 

In the Christopher & Banks bankruptcy case, the Court entered final orders authorizing the Debtors to:

  • Use cash collateral. The Debtors did not file a motion to access a DIP Facility. The Debtors stated, “Consensual use of cash collateral will provide sufficient liquidity to run going-out-of-business sales and market and sell the e-commerce business. Cash-on-hand and revenue from the store closing sales are projected to be sufficient to support continued operations, as well as reduce the balance owed to the prepetition lenders through structured paydowns;” and
  • Continue GOB sales at all 449 stores. The sales are expected to conclude by February 28, 2021. The Company leases all of its retail locations (which trade as missy, petite, women; Christopher & Banks; and C.J. Banks), as well as a distribution center and corporate headquarters in Plymouth, MN. The Debtors do not own any real property. The Debtors engaged Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC to liquidate the stores’ inventory. Click here to request a list of store closures.
 
 

Urban Outfitters’ 4Q21 sales (ended 1/31/21) fell 7%, driven by a 7% comp decline from reduced store traffic and occupancy restrictions. The Company also reported stronger conversion rates, and digital sales accelerated double-digits (penetration not disclosed). By banner, comps increased 6% at Free People (20% of 4Q21 sales), and decreased 6% and 11% at Urban Outfitters (39% of 4Q21 sales) and Anthropologie (40% of 4Q21 sales), respectively. The remaining 1% of sales went towards its subscription and restaurant segments. Wholesale sales decelerated 7%, representing 6% of total 4Q21 sales. For FY21, total sales fell 13% to $3.45 billion; there were 20 store openings and 10 closures. Click here to request a list of future store openings and closings.