Vienna, Va. — The Ratner Cos., the parent company of salon concepts such as Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Salon Cielo, plans to trim its 844-store portfolio by 10%. The company plans to maintain a presence in all existing markets as it looks to shift resources to its best-performing salons. Ratner Cos. cites “intense competition and rising operating costs,” as well as shifting consumer shopping methods, as the basis for its decision. The firm has engaged in discussions with landlords to renegotiate terms or exit some of its leases. In addition …
Redwood City, Calif. — Presto, the restaurant industry’s leading end-to-end technology platform, has been selected by Brinker International, Inc. as the exclusive provider of its next generation guest-facing pay-at-table solutions. The Presto pay-at-table systems are scheduled to be deployed across most of Chili’s® Grill & Bar 1,250 restaurants in the United States over the course of Brinker’s fiscal year. This new partnership will enable Chili’s to provide a convenient pay-at-table experience for its guests. The new devices are being deployed to increase Chili’s guest satisfaction, improve productivity and ultimately drive …
— By Scott Benson — No longer an afterthought, food and beverage is taking up more space in the retail landscape than ever before. The ways in which consumers choose to spend their time and money are changing and so must the industries that serve them, and the food and beverage industry is no exception. Food and beverage is flourishing in a time when many traditional retailers seem to be treading water. People are dining out more than ever — the average American household spends approximately $3,365 per year …
— By Rick Sung — Leveraging the power of predictive analysis in facilities management. Renowned management consultant Peter Drucker once mused, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” For leaders seeking ways to advance their facilities management (FM), measuring progress is a complex and nuanced process requiring a sophisticated, data-driven approach. In this quest for improvement, however, gathering data is only half the battle. To make truly informed decisions, business leaders and facilities managers alike need analytics to better understand the staggering volume of data flowing through …
Scottsdale, Ariz. — The international development of Blimpie® is set to grow within the Southeast Asian region. Kahala Brands™, the parent company of Blimpie, has collaborated with Deelish Brands Pte Ltd to open the Blimpie brand in Singapore. Deelish Brands is a Singapore-based restaurant management company. The company operates in the fast-casual restaurant sector. Blimpie will work with Deelish Brands to introduce and expand the brand in Singapore with plans to open five stores within the next 5 years. “Continuing to build the brand’s international expansion with highly esteemed companies …
Philadelphia — Five Below Inc. plans to open 180 stores this year, which would grow the Philadelphia-based retailer’s footprint by 20%. The announcement came during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Specific plans for the openings were not disclosed. At the same time, Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Five Below, said the company also acquired the e-commerce platform, fulfillment operation and certain other assets of Hollar.com. SOURCE: Five Below, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio — Express, Inc., a leading fashion apparel retailer, is launching a new corporate strategy that will include the closure of 100 stores over the next 2 years. “My expectation is that we will return to a mid-single-digit operating margin through a combination of low-single-digit comp sales growth, margin expansion and cost reductions,” says Tim Baxter, chief executive officer. “This will of course take some time, but we have a clear path.” Additionally, Express aims to reinvigorate its brand. Based on customer insights, the company is unveiling its new …
Philadelphia — Architetra p.c., an architectural firm based in Paoli, Pa., has unveiled its design concept for Ventnor Burger Bar, a new restaurant and bar that shares a roof with the fully-gutted and renovated Ventnor Square Theater in Ventnor, N.J. Jersey Cape Partners has selected Architetra to design the Ventnor Square Theater restaurant because of a previous positive collaboration on Stewart’s Root Beer, an oceanfront, two-story franchise restaurant that opened on the Wildwood Boardwalk in New Jersey in 2007. Artist Julie Loren Webb has been commissioned to design the painting …
Grants Pass, Ore. — Dutch Bros Coffee, the country’s largest privately held drive-thru coffee company, has named Charley Jemley chief financial officer. He joins the Dutch Bros family with extensive experience in retail finance and restaurant development, both in the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, he served as CFO of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., the operator of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. “Having dedicated the past 30 years to working with leading global brands in high-growth environments, I feel fortunate to have saved the best for last by joining the Dutch …
London — IKEA has purchased a West London shopping center, Kings Mall Shopping Centre in Hammersmith, where it will also debut its first UK small format store in spring 2021. The £170 million acquisition is part of IKEA’s strategy to develop mixed-use sites around urban stores. When it opens in 2021, the new Kings Mall store will mark the sixth London-area location for IKEA. Most recently, IKEA opened in the city in Greenwich last year. IKEA also launched two London planning studios in 2019 under its plan to develop new …