• Ikea’s parent company wants to develop as many as 45 shopping centers in the U.S. Ingka Centres already has built an empire of 45 Ikea-anchored properties in Europe, China and Russia. Now, the company says the market is right to develop U.S. centers.

Ingka Centres is negotiating to buy several properties in major U.S. cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. It plans to convert the properties—the likes of former post offices, department stores and malls—into new shopping centers within the next couple of years, managing director Gerard Groener told Reuters. The pandemic opened a door for opportunistic purchases. “It’s a good time to buy now,” Groener said. “It’s more a buyers’ market than a sellers’ market currently in the U.S.”
All Ingka Centres’ properties are anchored by Ikea stores. Other tenants include French supermarket chain Auchan, as well as H&M and Zara. The firm recently purchased Kings Mall in London and plans to reopen it as an Ikea-anchored center in April 2021.

• J.C. Penney Co. will close 30 percent of its 846 stores as part of a restructuring plan after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. The retailer announced on Monday that it plans to close about 192 stores by February and another 50 by 2022. That will leave the company with just over 600 stores.

• Pier1 plans to close all 540 of its stores and sell its brand name and intellectual property after failing to find a buyer for its operations. The 58-year old home decor chain has cut its store count in half since last year, and it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year. "Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of COVID-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer and requiring us to wind down,” said CEO and CFO Robert Riesbeck.

• Specialty chains Sur La Table and Tuesday Morning each face financial woes that the pandemic has made worse. Kitchenware retailer Sur La Table, owned by Investcorp, operates 130 stores. Two of its biggest debt holders recently wrote down their investments in the company significantly. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has given Tuesday Morning, which operates 700 stores, until the end of the month to catch up on its loan payments and has told the off-price retailer to hire liquidation advisers.

• Experience-oriented real estate operators like theaters and gyms are finding new revenue streams during the pandemic. Studio Movie Grill, founder and CEO Brian Schultz said on CBRE’s Virtual Lunch & Learn: Retail Reopening last week that his company has tested ways to generate revenue while accommodating social-distancing rules. Renting out individual theaters to small groups is one successful strategy, he said. “The hottest thing has been being able to bring a group of friends. In the future, we can see a lot more customization and becoming a community gathering place for training, inspirational things or group gatherings.” Meanwhile, in response to COVID-19, upscale fitness club Equinox accelerated by nine months the launch of its digital platform, which includes virtual personal training and Pilates classes, president Scott Rosen said on the same webinar.

• Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce sales climbed 74 percent in the first quarter, while same-store sales grew 10 percent. The average purchase per customer surged by 16 percent, and the number of transactions dropped by 6 percent, CFO Brett Biggs said. Walmart hired 200,000 employees to help clean stores, stock shelves and fulfill online orders. The company spent nearly $900 million on expenses related to COVID-19. 

• Though Kohl’s didn’t report same-store sales for the first quarter, the department store chain’s digital sales rose by 24 percent year over year and by more than 60 percent in April. The strongest categories for online sales included home, activewear, toys and beauty, according to CEO Michelle Gass. Higher e-commerce sales, though, made for lower profit margins. Kohl’s gross margins fell from 36.8 percent to 17.3 percent year over year for the first quarter, dinged by shipping costs and promotional expenses. About half its more than 1,160 stores across the U.S. have reopened for business, she said. 

• Target is acquiring technology assets from Deliv. Founded in 2012, it provides retailers with third-party, same-day delivery in 35 markets. Deliv founder and CEO Daphne Carmeli is expected to join Target. The deal marks Target’s second acquisition in the same-day delivery space; in 2017, the retailer bought Shipt for $550 million and last year launched a Shipt-powered dedicated shopping site for same-day delivery.