News

No delivery address? No problem, according to Dominos pizza’s new technology! Customers of Domino’s pizza can now order from just about anywhere. Whether you are on the beach, at a local park or even a baseball field, you can now order using a pin drop! This new technology was tested last week and the drivers as well as customers had positive feedback about the experience.   This is a very smart move for the pizza chain...

Bed Bath and Beyond auctioned off 109 of its leases due to their recent bankruptcy. It turns out that Burlington Coat Factory won 50 (the majority) of the leases at an estimated value of about $13.53 Million which aligns great with their growth plans. Other stores who got locations include Michaels, Haverty’s, Barns and Noble, and Macy’s to name a few. The store locations are tremendous for retailers who want to grow their businesses and...

Many of us have been in a situation where we are waiting in line to purchase an item and we have time to reconsider that purchase and decide to step out of line. Making the checkout process easy for the end user remains to be a top priority for retailers. Mobile POS systems are a great tool for retailers who want to provide their customers with easy, fast and reliable service. Some retailers are even...

As with all brands, evolution is key to staying relevant and competitive in the marketplace. Smoothie King, known for their delicious smoothies was also known to be filled with sugar and not the healthiest smoothie on the market. Wan Kim, now CEO of smoothie King, bought the brand from its founders in 2012 and has been working tirelessly to not only expand the chain into various countries, but also transform their marketing and product offering...

There is no doubt that we are in an economy where delivery times are the fastest, we have ever seen. The average item takes a total of four business days from the time of purchase to reach its end user. This is quite impressive, but can companies sustain these incredible speeds? Time will tell; however, retailers are making great strides to reduce delivery times in order to compete with Amazon and their warehouse business model...

REI is a retail chain that offers apparel and products you need for the outdoors as well as fitness activities. We were fortunate to get one in Tampa a few years ago in Midtown. The store has recently decided to expand upon its “Re/Supply” store concept which will offer high-quality, gently used products at great discounts. REI says, “the selection will change frequently and be made up of lightly used products that REI receives through...

Del Taco has been expanding its reach into the Florida market with locations popping up all over the state. Their strategy is different than that of their competitor, Taco Bell, in that they pride themselves on the higher quality food offerings, however, they are also appealing to those who are budget conscious. One side of their menu has items for $2 or less (value menu) and the other side of the menu has regular priced...

Dave and Buster’s had a record first quarter of 2023 with revenue of $597 million and record net income of $70.1 million. Coming out of the Pandemic is looking very promising for the experiential entertainment retailer. Even with the uncertain times we are currently in, they remain bullish about their business model and are making efforts to enhance the customer experience. CEO, Chris Morris said, “the company’s record results in Q1 were driven by operational...

Everyone loves a Panera Bread sandwich, soup or salad every now and then! Panera Bread has been a leader in the fast casual dining category for quite some time. In 2010, they rolled out their loyalty application which also first introduced the concept of ordering on the app ahead of time and picking up food in store on the pickup shelf. Now fast forward to 2023 and they are incorporating drive-thru’s at many of their...

Patrick Doyle, former CEO of Domino’s pizza for over a decade, brought the chain to the #1 position in its sector. Now, he is at the helm of the Burger King franchise and investing $30 million of his own money to align his incentives with that of Burger King. Burger King launched a $400 million revival plan before Doyle came on board called “Reclaim the Flame.” This effort includes substantial advertising and digital investments, remodeling...

Acadia Realty Trust, a publicly traded REIT which invests in shopping centers and street retail is seeing positive returns for investors. Their street retail market rents and tenant health are performing better than they did pre COVID. Their portfolio includes street retail in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Representatives from Acadia say they are very optimistic for what they will see over the next few years since the rebound...

The first quarter sales results are in for Walmart, and they look very optimistic! Walmart beat Wall Street’s earnings and expectations for the first quarter of 2023 and attributes most of this to its strong grocery sales which make up roughly 60% of sales. The CFO, John David Rainey stated that consumers are still spending a great deal even while inflation remains hard on American consumers. They have noticed people are not buying big ticket...

As we see consumers facing inflation, paying higher prices for necessities, they are also looking to discount retailers to find better bargains on clothing and accessories. Now, post pandemic everyone is out and about again going on vacations, eating out at restaurants and attending events and along with this, people are seeking new apparel to wear. According to the article, Nordstrom stores have faced lackluster performance even since before the Pandemic and investors want to...

Sweetgreen, a popular fast casual salad restaurant is making improvements towards efficiency in its kitchen. The brand is focusing more on front facing employees who interact with the customers in order to enhance the customer experience instead of preparing and assembling the meals. The health food concept is testing new, automated robotic lines which they have termed “Infinite Kitchen” at two of its locations. The Infinite Kitchen uses a conveyor belt to dispense each ingredient...

Batteries Plus, a chain responsible for selling batteries for watches, phones & vehicles, plus replacement lightbulbs is doing very well. They had a record-breaking year with double digit commercial sales growth in 2022 and plan to expand their franchise footprint in 2023 to keep the momentum going. Batteries Plus broke records in the first quarter of 2023 with the highest commercial sales in company history.   The company currently operates 700 stores and plans to...

Raising Cane’s founder, and co-CEO Todd Graves has quite the story to tell. It began in college, where he received the lowest grade in his college class for his proposed business plan, opening a fried chicken business. His teacher didn’t believe this would thrive in Louisiana and when he presented his idea to banks, they did not support him either. He moved to California and worked in an oil refinery then moved to Alaska to...

Dick’s Sporting Goods is a staple in the retail sporting goods industry. As with the changing of the times they are also evolving, not only to meet customer expectations but exceed them. Dicks has started opening stores with a more interactive experiential concept called the “House of Sports” and it is being received very well by its customer base. The House of Sports concepts have a batting cage, rock climbing wall, golf simulators and equipment...

Chipotle has done a great job producing quality fast casual Mexican food, who doesn’t love a Chipotle burrito every now and then? Their recent campaign highlights their sustainability efforts and the importance of connecting to mother earth. The chain is working on making over 100 of its new stores “all electric” in order to reduce their carbon footprint and show their commitment to the environment. Some of the things they are doing in order to...

There is no doubt that Lululemon is a champion in the athleisure category. They have been popular since inception by providing soft, comfortable athletic wear that is fashionable and trendy. Last year was a bumpy ride for a lot of retail, but lululemon came out strong in the 4th quarter of 2022 with revenues surging roughly 30%. Although they had huge increases in revenue, one product in particular that they sell did slow them down...

We are seeing transportation and logistics recover from backlogs of goods coming to the U.S. return to healthy pre-pandemic levels which is good news. Unfortunately, for the customers, this does not mean that prices of goods will be slashed anytime soon. It is still very costly to have items shipped. “Short-term prices for containers from Europe to the US East Coast are still more than double what they were in late-2019,” according to data from...

Dollar Stores offer unmatched discounts to their customers. Through the pandemic, however, they struggled a bit to keep up with all the online shopping that was occurring. Now, they are making a big comeback and ready to compete with grocery stores and offer more food items. At a time where we are seeing a rise in interest rates coupled with high inflation, this seems like a strategic move for the discount retailer. Currently, dollar stores...

Target has just about every single household item you could ever need. They have done a great job getting customers to do the bulk of their shopping all in one place. From grocery shopping, to buying a new throw blanket or toiletries, they have it all. Recently, they have focused their efforts on remodeling stores and having displays at the ends of aisles that make you feel like you need to buy certain items while...

7-Eleven continues to evolve and bring ease and convenience to its customers. The convenience store giant just announced that it will be rolling out the largest and most compatible network of Electric Vehicle charging stations, called “7Charge” across North America. Customers will be able to seamlessly download the app for an easy charging and payment experience. The states they will begin implementing these stations include Florida, Texas, California, and Colorado.  Once the EV network is...

With inflation still high, it comes as no surprise that consumers are doing what they can to save money. Even though we are not currently in what would be classified as a, “recession” consumers are doing more cooking at home, seeking out cheaper gas, and utilizing coupons to save money. People are behaving as if we are in a recession and the big retailers are doing what they can to lure customers in.  Many big...

CAVA, a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant confidentially filed IPO in February. If it does in fact go public, it will be the first of its kind to do so since 2021. The restaurant began in Maryland in 2006 and has since opened hundreds of stores across the country. In 2018, CAVA acquired Zoës Kitchen and has since been flipping those stores over turning them into the CAVA branded locations and opened 83 new stores in...

It has become more commonplace for people to shop online and use delivery services for grocery items in particular but there has been an uptick in online shopping for other household products as well. Nonfood items such as household cleaning products and cosmetic products are being ordered online at a much higher rate than we have ever seen. “48.2% of consumers said they are buying less cleaning supplies in-store, and nearly as many said they...

McDonald’s has been a staple in the QSR sector for many years. They offer a unique and tasty treat when you’re in the mood for a burger, fries or chicken nuggets so it is no surprise to see them growing. In Q4 2022, sales increased 10.3% up further from 7.5% in 2021. Even with inflation and menu items increasing in price by 10% their customers have been resilient. In November of 2020, they rolled out...

It’s always nice to hear good news. Coming out of the pandemic and through 2022 was a bumpy ride, now NRF economists are saying that a recession is unlikely in 2023. The federal reserve announced that with the inflation hikes, they are seeing desirable results and only hiked rates .25 basis points in February compared to .50 in previous months. The economy is seen as very resilient at this time, and we are starting to...

Sam’s club has seen a record rise in membership growth over the past two years due to its product and service offering at low prices. Due to this rise in demand, the company has decided to expand its stores with the first new one opening in Florida in 2024. In addition to stores, it will also be opening fulfillment and distribution warehouses nearby so that it can keep restocking items quickly and efficiently while maintaining...

As we have seen malls transform due to changing times and e-commerce, it comes as no surprise that mall owners are looking for new and exciting ways to bring in foot traffic. In recent years we have seen success with malls incorporating fitness centers, mini golf courses and even ax throwing in some places. However, some of these “Experiential Retail” offerings require quite expensive buildouts and are extremely customized to their offering. Is an indoor...

Amazon challenged other retailers a great deal when it first rolled out, and we saw how valuable curbside pick-up and delivery of anything you want was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Amazon is facing more competition in the market as other retailers are catching up with their technology. Wal-Mart and Target, for example, have since discovered ways to compete with the retail delivery giant. Wal-Mart rolled out its Wal-Mart+ (plus) memberships for $99 a month...

Retail shopping centers have remained profitable and shown strong even with challenges such as the roll out of e-commerce in 2010 and the COVID-19 Pandemic. In today’s market, occupancy rates and rental growth has reached record highs. These brick-and-mortar locations have proven to be valuable storefronts due to the fact that you can talk to a customer service representative in person and pickup things quickly and seamlessly. “Year-to-date through November 2022, data firm MSCI Real...

Walmart is the retail pioneer for using drone delivery to deliver packages to its customers. Last year alone, they had over 6,000 successful deliveries from thirty-six stores which have the DroneUp hubs. States with locations include Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia. With the drone delivery service, Walmart has had success delivering items to customers front yards that weigh less than 10 pounds. They are able to reach customers within 30 minutes...

Who doesn’t love a hearty breakfast or warm cup of coffee to start the day?! Denny’s has been around for almost 70 years and is still strives to evolve with its ever-changing customer base. It has been a staple and perhaps even a breakfast tradition for families who want to take their kids out for breakfast. During the pandemic restaurants such as Denny’s took a hard hit but are emerging strong. They have incorporated more...

It has been a bumpy ride for retailers this year and the stock market indicates that. Many investors are not very bullish about retail stocks going into the holiday season when typically, this is the best time of year for those stocks when sales get a nice boost from the influx of shoppers. What we are seeing now with retail stocks is a similar picture to that from March of 2020 when there was a...

Customers are more likely to go through a drive-through than get out of their cars and go inside to eat at quick serve restaurants. As we saw the trends continue to evolve, it seems that customers still want their food as quickly and efficiently as possible. As more quick serve restaurants invest in technology, one study conducted found that customers ordering speed can be enhanced by having a brightly lit menu with food visuals as...