Hawthorne, Calif. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) and Highland Partners have arranged the sale of a retail building located at 14351 Hindry Ave. in Hawthorne. A private family office acquired the property from Hawthorne Gateway, a private Los Angeles-based partnership, for $14 million. Bed, Bath & Beyond occupies the property. Bill Bauman, Kyle Miller, Michael Fogel and Matt Schwartz of NKF and Michael Grannis of Highland Partners represented the seller in the transaction.
Houston — Lee & Associates-Houston has arranged a 3,000-square-foot lease in Houston for Voodoo Doughnut, a boutique donut shop based in Portland, Ore. Voodoo will open the new store this fall at 1214 Westheimer Road in Houston’s Montrose district. Grant Walker and Brad Kilbride of Lee & Associates-Houston, along with Wade Green of Transwestern, represented Voodoo in the lease deal. The landlord was not disclosed. Walker also represented Voodoo last year in its lease negotiations for its first Houston eatery at 3715 Washington Ave. Voodoo also has a prominent location …
By Ray Balfanz, Outlook Management Group What does Milwaukee bring to mind? Beer? Cheese? TV’s “Happy Days”? Perhaps the city chosen as the site for the 2020 Democratic National Convention? Yes, that’s us — being recognized and happy about it. But since I began penning this piece in March, we’ve experienced a world of change in the realities of group gatherings: We can hardly have 10 people in a group now, let alone thousands of delegates filling our new Fiserv Forum. It’s anybody’s guess how long the multi-trillion-dollar brick-and-mortar retail …
San Ramon, Calif. — Fitness center retail chain 24 Hour Fitness has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection stemming from revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The San Ramon-based company expects to secure $250 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which is subject to court approval. The fitness chain has also announced its intention to permanently close 132 of its 300-plus gyms. In California alone, 24 Hour Fitness will shutter 41 locations, and in Texas another 26 will permanently close as the company will focus on reopening its other gyms across the …
Seattle — Starbucks Coffee plans to accelerate the transformation of its store portfolio across the United States amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next 18 months, the coffee chain will increase convenience-led formats in company-operated locations with drive-thru and curbside pickup options, as well as Starbucks Pickup location. In a letter to shareholders, released through an SEC filing, Starbucks announced that it plans to close approximately 400 company-operated U.S. stores over the next 18 months as part of this new focus on drive-thru and pickup. In that same letter, …
Washington, D.C. — The advance estimate for U.S. retail and food services sales, including e-commerce, in May is 17.7 percent higher than in April, the U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning. May is the first month since the COVID-19 outbreak halted the U.S. economy that has shown positive month-over-month growth. April was down 14.7 percent from March, and March decreased nearly 10 percent from February. Spending in May was at $485.5 billion, still lower than pre-pandemic levels. February’s total spending came in at $527.3 billion. “These sales numbers do not …
Chicago — McDonald’s says that U.S. same-store sales have sequentially improved from late March through May. For the month of May, the Chicago-based fast food giant reported a decline in U.S. same-store sales of 5.1 percent, compared with 19.2 percent for the month of April. Globally, sales fell 29.8 percent quarter-to-date through May. McDonald’s says that 95 percent of its restaurants globally are now open. In the United States, more than 1,000 restaurant dining rooms have reopened with reduced seating capacity. “Our unique advantages, including a high percentage of drive-thru …
Philadelphia — Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE), a discount retail chain headquartered in Philadelphia, has now reopened 90 percent of its stores across the United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company temporarily closed all of its 920 stores across 36 states on March 20 and began reopening them in late April. Five Below reported a net sales decrease of 44.9 percent from $364.8 million to $200.9 million between the first quarters of 2019 and 2020. The first quarter of the company’s 2020 fiscal year ended May 2. In addition, …
Dover, Del. — Lululemon (Nasdaq: LULU), a provider of athletic apparel that is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, but incorporated in Delaware, has now reopened 295 of its 489 stores, or roughly 60 percent of its worldwide locations. The company reported net revenue of $652 million in its fiscal first quarter, which ended May 3, compared with $785 million during the same period a year ago, a 17 percent decline. Lululemon closed all of its stores in mainland China following the outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequently shuttered its Europe and …
Lauderhill, Fla. — Promenade Plaza LLC, an affiliate of Current Capital Real Estate Group, has acquired Promenade at Inverrary, a 143,460-square-foot retail property in Lauderhill, for $12.6 million. The asset is located at 4402-4678 N. University Drive, 11 miles west of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Todd Nepola, president of Current Capital, says the company will implement remodeling plans at Promenade over the next 12 months. Current Capital will also handle management and leasing efforts at the shopping center, which was built in 1986. The seller was not disclosed. CenterState Bank provided …
