As retailers up their stores’ engagement factor to give shoppers a reason to visit, Foot Locker has opened its newest prototype, at Willowbrook mall in Wayne, New Jersey. The concept aims to provide shoppers with a more immersive experience than the old-school Foot Locker stores’ walls of shoes and chairs for trying them on. The new format features a “drop zone” for new products, more brand displays and a place to customize purchases with laces and other accessories. Foot Locker will spend $200 million to open five such “stores of the future” and redesign 900 existing stores to reflect the prototype in 2024 and 2025.

Wayfair’s First Large-Format Physical Store Is Weeks Away

Online retailer Wayfair said its first large-format store will open on May 23 at Edens Plaza in Wilmette, Illinois. The 150,000-square-foot store will open in a former Carson’s department store that has been vacant since 2018. Wayfair previously had said the store would open in mid-2023.

Express Latest Mall Brand Scooped Up by Landlords

Mall landlords could take control of the Express brand. The struggling retailer has filed for Chapter 11 protection under the Bankruptcy Code and will close approximately 95 Express stores and all 12 UpWest locations. The company operates about 530 stores under the Express, Bonobos and UpWest brands. Under restructuring, Express has received a commitment for $35 million in new financing from certain existing lenders, and in mid-April, it received $49 million in cash from the IRS related to the CARES Act.

A consortium of investors that includes affiliates of mall landlords Brookfield Properties and Simon has offered to buy most of the retailer’s stores and operations. Brookfield and Simon have acquired mall retailers in trouble before. The companies participated in the buyout of JCPenney in 2020, and Simon paired with Authentic Brands Group to purchase Aeropostale, Forever 21, Lucky Brand, and Brooks Brothers.

Blackstone Invests in Smoothie Franchise

Blackstone will buy franchise operator Tropical Smoothie Cafe from another private equity fund in a deal that values the chain at $2 billion. It operates more than 1,400 locations in 44 states, selling smoothies, acai and yogurt bowls and the like.

Kroger and Albertsons Add More Stores to Divestiture Pile

Kroger and Albertsons are selling additional stores to address Federal Trade Commission concerns about their $25 billion proposed merger. The companies had planned to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers and have added another 166 stores to that deal. The deal now calls for C&S to pay $2.9 billion for the 579 stores. After the merger, Kroger will keep the Albertsons and Safeway names in some states but will rename some stores in states like California and Arizona, where C&S will have licensing rights to those names.