News

Mall unveils its upscale future

As other centers struggle, Christiana Mall is forging ahead into a reimagined future.

Delaware's biggest shopping center on Tuesday unveiled some of the new tenants that it hopes will deliver an upscale retail punch during times of cautious consumer spending, including such first-in-Delaware names as The Cheesecake Factory restaurant; Sephora and Bare Escentuals beauty products; and Forever XXI, which sells youth-oriented apparel.

While the reinvigoration comes at a time of new frugality among consumers, the mall's bankrupt owners are betting its tax-free location and proximity to the interstate will put it in a position to prevail when the economy brightens. Read more...

LittleMissMatched to open children's retail store

New York — LittleMissMatched, the children’s gift, apparel and home accessories company that grew from the idea of selling socks in odd numbers that don't match, is opening a store in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The company partnered with IT’SUGAR, a candy store, to create a destination where “fashion fuses with fun.” Read more...

Tribe uses native plants in spa products

Creosote bush, the fragrant, yellow-blossoming bush that covers Valley mountainsides, is a key ingredient in a new line of spa products developed by the Gila River Indian Community.

Known to members of community by its Pima name, shegoi, creosote has traditionally been used in herbal teas, healing balms and even to cure ailments in animals, said Belen Stoneman, spiritual healer at Gila River's Aji Spa at Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort. Read more...

For retailer buyers, a tall order for the holidays

Bradley Hilton is looking for bargains.

As buyer for San Francisco-based Gump's, Hilton is in Dallas looking for lower-priced versions of pillows and throws than ones traditionally featured in the Christmas catalog.

He is among the thousands of retailer buyers putting the final wrap on holiday 2009 at Dallas Market Center's home and gift market ending today. Read more...

Ala Moana Center a 'gold mine'

Its owner may be bankrupt, but Ala Moana Center is one of America’s most profitable malls.

A new report from U.S. News & World Report magazine used data from Green Street Advisors to identify malls where the retail business remains healthy despite the recession. Read more...

LV Chamber interns get business lessons

Setting prices, handling public relations and marketing and selling Las Vegas souvenirs should keep a group of local teens busy this summer. The 16 Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce interns are learning firsthand how to run a small business and hope to turn a profit in the process.

The enterprise is called Vegas Curbside. It opened for business on June 22, housed in a kiosk in the Town Square shopping center not far from the chamber's headquarters. This is the first year that interns are invited to hawk wares such as key chains, pens, T-shirts and hats. Read more...

Many retailers bullish on July 4 weekend

Despite the recession and a mostly rainy and cool June, area retailers' economic forecasts are not all doom and gloom.

Nancy Kyle, president and CEO of the Retail Merchant's Association of New Hampshire, said sales are "all over the place" among member businesses.

"Some retailers are barely hanging on while others are doing better than last year," she said. "There is no rhyme or reason to it." Read more...

New smoking device promises the ability to light up anywhere without getting the heat

Smokers, what if you could smoke a cigarette that didn't contain any tobacco or carcinogens and didn't stink?

And nonsmokers, how would you feel about walking past a pack of smokers without coughing, or worrying your lungs were filling up with chemicals from secondhand smoke?

A new product on the market, widely known as the electronic cigarette, is changing the rules of smoking for those wishing to puff wherever and whenever they want. Read more...

Ritzy Newport Beach mall goes on a spending spree

Shoppers might not be ready for new luxury stores and pricey restaurants just yet, but the owner of ritzy Fashion Island in Newport Beach is betting they will be soon.

Over the next couple of years, developer Irvine Co. will spend more than $100 million to upgrade the shopping center. Plans call for opening a Nordstrom department store and Dean & DeLuca gourmet grocery, adding new fountains and a 24-foot-high water wall and enhancing the Mediterranean-inspired architecture and landscaping.

Construction of the lavish project begins at a time when mall traffic is down, retailers are struggling to stay afloat and few consumers are spending freely. But Fashion Island executives say recession or not, they have to keep sprucing up the property to retain longtime shoppers and attract new ones. Read more...

Holiday shopping will be early this year, Christmas tree e-retailer says

For Thomas Harman, whose BalsamHill.com retail site depends entirely on Christmas, the holiday shopping season is basically over by Dec. 10. And the shopping season for every retailer will be earlier this year than last year, he advises.

“Retailers will find this year that the Christmas shopping season will come a bit earlier,” says, attributing a later than usual season last year to public fixation on the 2008 presidential election. “Last year the presidential campaigns kept Christmas out of the news until after the election,” Harman says.

“The average shopper last year wasn’t thinking about shopping as much as usual until late in November. So one trend to get ready for this year is that holiday shopping could happen sooner.” Read more...