June 19, 2024
J.C. Penney will shutter the following four stores: Mobile, AL, Wichita Falls, TX, Waterville, ME, and Annapolis, MD. The first three are slated to close by September 22, while the fourth will close in 2025. The Company recently closed a location at the Wayne Towne Center in Wayne, NJ, but opened a new store across the street at the Willowbrook Mall.
Casey's General Stores expects to add at least 100 stores during FY25, through a combination of new store construction and mergers and acquisitions. During FY24, the Company built or acquired 154 stores, bringing its total store count to 2,658.
Jack in the Box plans to open 15 restaurants in Florida and 15 in Georgia. The Florida locations will be in Orlando and Tallahassee, while the Georgia sites will be focused in Macon, Augusta, and Savannah. Georgia will be the 23rd state in which Jack in the Box operates. Jack in the Box has recently announced openings and development agreements in Utah, Kentucky, Arkansas, Montana, and Wyoming. In 2023, the chain signed 123 new restaurant agreements.
Kroger's Harris Teeter will open a store in Beaufort, SC on June 25. The location will feature store-made pizza, subs, sushi, and an Asian & American hot foods bar, a full-service Starbucks and a craft wine and beer bar, expanded meat and seafood departments, expanded organic and specialty produce, fresh-cut fruit, and a soup and salad bar, and drive-thru pickup for online grocery orders and a pharmacy. Harris Teeter operates more than 250 stores and more than 70 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, and Washington D.C.
Leslie's will open 15 new stores in 2024. Seven of the stores will be located in Texas, in the following communities: Addison, Casa Linda, Dallas, Plano, Southlake (Dallas), Cibola (San Antonio), and Spring (Houston). Additionally, eight new locations are planned for California, New York, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Washington.
The Children's Place's sales were down in 1Q24, primarily due to lower store count, increased promotional activity, store traffic declines, and lower e-commerce demand due to reductions in marketing to preserve liquidity and decreases in wholesale revenue.
The Company closed five locations during the quarter and ended the period with 518 stores, down 81 from 599 at 1Q23. Since the Company’s fleet optimization initiative was announced in 2013, it has permanently closed 676 stores including 68 closed in 4Q23.
H-E-B opened a 55,000 square-foot Joe V's Smart Shop in Dallas, TX, its first location to open outside the Houston area. The new store features a large produce department, a bakery with in-store made tortillas, Sushiya (handmade sushi), an H-E-B Meal Simple selection with chef-inspired meals, and an expansive Latino cheese selection. Meanwhile, the Company has begun construction on a second Dallas location for Joe V's, which is expected to open in spring 2025.
Academy Sports' 1Q24 sales fell due to a decrease in comparable store sales, partially offset by the opening of 15 new stores during the year. Academy opened two new stores during 1Q24, and it plans to open 15 to 17 stores in FY24.
Hy-Vee has announced three store closures in Iowa. The Company is closing its First Avenue store in Cedar Rapids, its Logan Avenue store in Waterloo, and its Rockingham Road in Davenport on June 23. According to reports, the stores have not met sales goals for the past several years. To help the affected communities, the Company has offered to provide free grocery delivery to residents within a 1-mile radius of each store for up to one year, free pharmacy delivery, no lease restrictions for landlords trying to fill the spaces, and a free shuttle to nearby Hy-Vee stores.
Barcelona, Spain-based fashion brand Mango has opened its third New York City location in Hudson Yards in Manhattan, NY. The store sells Mango's women's collection and features the brand's Mediterranean-inspired store concept, New Med. The opening brings Mango's store count to 25 in the U.S. The Company aims to open 15 additional U.S. locations by the end of 2024. Mango is targeting the U.S. as one of its top three markets globally. Mango began its current expansion into the U.S. in 2022 with the opening of its Fifth Avenue flagship location in Manhattan, NY. Since then it has expanded into Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California. This year it expanded into Pennsylvania with a store in King of Prussia, PA.
Revolve Group is opening its first permanent brick-and-mortar store in Aspen, CO. The store will feature apparel, footwear, and accessories from both Revolve and Fwrd, as well as in-store shopping events and trunk shows. The Company previously operated a pop-up in the same space last December, which drove substantial sales and new customer acquisition.
Buc-ee's opened a 75,000 square-foot travel center in Luling, TX, its largest store to date and replacing its original space that was built in 2003. The location offers 120 fueling positions as well as both national and private label brand snack, meal and drink options. Buc-ee's now operates 50 stores throughout the U.S., including 35 in Texas. Since beginning its multistate expansion in 2019, Buc-ee's has opened travel centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Colorado. The Company also broke ground on its first Virginia and Mississippi locations earlier this year.
Coborn's expanded its existing grocery and liquor stores in a shopping center in Otsego, MN. The expansion, announced earlier this year, added 10,000 square feet of space to include wider aisles and around 2,900 new products. The expansion also includes the addition of Erbert and Gerbert's Sandwich Shop within the grocery store. Meanwhile the liquor store was expanded to stock a much larger assortment of beer, wine, and liquor products and an in-store tasting center.
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