Spirit Halloween is converting 39 locations into Christmas pop-up stores

Goodbye Spirit Halloween and hello Spirit Christmas as we head into the November holiday season.

In 2026, 39 Spirit Halloween locations are being converted directly into Spirit Christmas stores. Additionally, five new locations were added in October under the Spirit Christmas banner.

The Christmas operation is a growing concept for the pop-up store chain. Spirit Christmas originally debuted as an 8-store pilot in 2024, expanded to 30 locations in 2025, and has now reached 44 locations for 2026.

Spirit Halloween and its parent company, Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc., are privately held and do not publicly release granular financial forecasts or sales figures. However, estimates for Spirit Halloween's ~1,550+ pop-up locations are between $1.2B and $1.4B plus ~$170M – $180M attributable to online sales. Sprit Christmas generates an estimated $600k–$1M per pop-up location across a 6–8 week window, therefore total 2026 sales are anticipated between $25M and $45M.

Overall U.S. Halloween retail spending is projected $13.4B – $13.5B in 2026 (per National Retail Federation data). Spirit Halloween captures an estimated 10–12% share of total domestic Halloween-related consumer spending.

Read more: You’ve gotten Spirit Halloween all wrong! (Wealthfront Vested Interest)

Why is Simon Property acquiring University Village in Seattle?

University Village in Seattle is the type of property Simon Property Group has long sought to acquire because top-tier retail destinations are in limited supply.

Class A malls comprise only a finite number of malls, and University Village is one of about 250 Class A malls (ranging from A-minus to A-plus-plus) in the United States. The vast majority of the Class A regional malls in the United States are owned or controlled by an oligopoly of a few major institutional owners and REITs including Simon, The Macerich Company, Brookfield Properties (GGP), Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) and Federal Realty Investment Trust.

University Village is classified by investors, analysts and retailers as a Class A+ lifestyle center and premier regional retail destination. This lifestyle center’s tenant mix allows it to draw shoppers without relying on a traditional department store. Simon CEO Eli Simon is a millennial himself who also understands how young people — millennials and Gen Zers — are embracing the mall concept nowadays, and the value that these assets bring.

Read more: Simon makes rare mall purchase in Seattle as top properties gain ground (CoStar News)

Landlords pay for Cheesecake Factory's lavish restaurant finishes

Despite widespread coverage of The Cheesecake Factory's lavish buildout costs, the reporting never mentions that landlords—not the brand—are the ones footing the upfront bill.

Landlords typically pay between $100 and $250+ per square foot in tenant improvement (TI) allowances—and often significantly more in total capital outlay—to build out a Cheesecake Factory.

Because a standard Cheesecake Factory footprint spans roughly 7,500 to 10,000 square feet, this amounts to aggregate landlord contributions ranging from $1.0 million to $3.5+ million per lease, depending on deal structure, site condition and landlord leverage.

While the TI allowance rarely covers the entire construction budget, landlords provide substantial capital because Cheesecake Factory serves as a premier traffic driver and generates enormous rent for Class-A malls, lifestyle centers and mixed-use developments.

Read more: The Cheesecake Factory Is Over-the-Top, Gaudy and Bizarre. (The Wall Street Journal)

Bank executives: Consumer is still spending as holiday season approaches

Despite sluggish consumer sentiment, elevated interest rates and rising energy costs, American consumers continue to spend as the 2026 holiday season approaches.

- Credit and debit card sales volume was up 10% compared with a year earlier at JPMorganChase.
- Debit card spending increased 8% YoY, up from 5% growth a year earlier while credit card spending jumped 12% at Wells Fargo.
- General-purpose card spending rose by 13% at Citigroup.

And consumers are paying off their credit card debt. JPMorgan's consumer card net charge-off rate declined to 2.91%, while Wells Fargo and Citi also reported improving consumer credit quality.

"The consumer is still driving much of the growth," Citi CEO Jane Fraser, DBE said on the bank's earnings call, adding "The labor market is stable and companies remain active." Strong employment and wage growth have helped Americans absorb higher prices, according to Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo.

Read more: Bank earnings: Americans keep spending despite higher costs (Axios)

Uniqlo continues brick-and-mortar expansion

Fast Retailing is accelerating store expansion of UNIQLO eventually aiming to grow to 3,545 stores worldwide. The chain is opening 35 new locations this fiscal year. North America and Europe remain key targets.

New locations include Miami and reopening a store in downtown San Francisco. The San Francisco grand reopening is meant to signal Uniqlo's renewed commitment to the city after its pandemic-era departure, with the brand now occupying a shuttered Old Navy space.

Read more: Uniqlo Owner Posts Record Annual Profit, Expects Further Growth (The Wall Street Journal)

Footfall drops at apparel stores but increases at fitness, wellness, coffee, grocery and value retail

Apparel stores in shopping centers have experienced a 25% foot traffic drop in 2025 compared to 2019, per Placer.ai's New Tenant Mix Playbook.

By comparison, shopping center tenants representing fitness, wellness, coffee, grocery and off-price/value retail have all gained traffic.

According to the report, the tenant mix at shopping centers has significantly skewed since pre-pandemic times to more service-oriented tenants, fast-casual restaurants, off-price retail, groceries, and health and wellness.

The report points to three main drivers in visit trends: the “pandemic reset” that altered consumer behavior, the “e-commerce reckoning” that slowed offline apparel sales, and the “wellness economy surge” that led to the growth of health and wellness tenants.

Read more: Placer.ai: Fitness, service tenants drive visits, dwell times at shopping centers (Chain Store Age)

Retail REITs are reporting stable to slightly compressing cap rates

Major public retail REITs are reporting stable to slightly compressing acquisition cap rates—averaging 6.0% to 6.8% for open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers (e.g., Brixmor Property Group and Kimco Realty Corporation) and 6.8% to 7.6% for single-tenant net-lease properties (e.g., Agree Realty Corporation and Realty Income Corporation)—as tight retail supply and robust rent growth keep buyer demand strong.

According to CBRE’s H1 2026 U.S. cap rate survey, which outlines investor sentiment, pricing trends and capitalization rates across commercial real estate asset classes, cap rates across major CRE sectors are expected to compress slightly by 5 to 15 basis points as market liquidity returns, pricing stabilizes and interest rate volatility moderates.

Grocery-anchored and other neighborhood and community open-air centers are experiencing the strongest pricing resilience and lowest cap rates within retail. Investor demand remains high due to consistent foot traffic, necessity-based tenants and near-historic low vacancy rates.

Many malls and older power centers are suffering from high CapEx requirements and slower re-tenanting leading investors to demand higher yields, keeping cap rates elevated compared to open-air neighborhood centers.

Total returns in 2026 are primarily driven by rising NOI rather than sharp capital appreciation. High-quality assets with stable credit tenants are benefiting from stronger pricing power.

Construction costs and tight financing continue to limit new retail deliveries, keeping national availability near historic lows. This structural lack of new supply coupled with increase demand for existing space underpins retail valuations and prevents cap rate expansion despite broader consumer spending caution.

Read more: U.S. Cap Rate Survey H1 2026 (CBRE)

Physical retail stores have become an increasingly important growth driver for Fabletics

Fabletics will open 20 international locations and 25 new U.S. stores over the next year. Fabletics is accelerating its international footprint into regions including Mexico, Guatemala, Germany (Berlin department store shop-in-shops), Europe, Australia and the Middle East (including Dubai).

Currently, the direct-to-consumer brand turned brick-and-mortar retailer operates 137 stores worldwide. "Retail (stores have) become an increasingly important growth driver for our business," says CEO Adam Goldenberg.

Fabletics selects mall and lifestyle centers to open new stores based on direct customer data from its local online VIP membership base. Roughly half of all non-member foot traffic in stores converts to its VIP Membership program, which currently accounts for between 90% and 95% of total brand revenue. The company now has more than $1 billion in annual revenue, achieving around 18%–20% YoY total sales growth.

Fabletics currently operates about 114 physical stores in 35 U.S. states. Major presences include California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Illinois and Ohio, alongside malls and lifestyle centers across the Midwest, Sun Belt and East Coast.

Recent and upcoming U.S. openings include:

Birmingham, Ala. — The Summit at Birmingham
Chandler, Ariz. — Chandler Fashion Center
Gilbert, Ariz. — SanTan Village
Glendale, Ariz. — Arrowhead Towne Center
Los Angeles — Westfield Century City
San Diego — Westfield UTC
Arcadia, Calif. — Westfield Santa Anita
Glendale, Calif. — Glendale Galleria
Walnut Creek, Calif. — Broadway Plaza
Corte Madera, Calif. — The Village at Corte Madera
Cabazon, Calif. — Desert Hills Premium Outlets
Louisville, Ky. — Oxmoor Center
Raleigh, N.C. — Crabtree Valley Mall
Paramus, N.J. — Westfield Garden State Plaza
Albuquerque, N.M. — ABQ Uptown
Cincinnati, Ohio — Kenwood Towne Center
Westlake, Ohio — Crocker Park
Oklahoma City, Okla. — Classen Curve
Germantown, Tenn. — Shops at Saddle Creek
Murray, Utah — Fashion Place
Wauwatosa, Wis. — Mayfair Mall

Fabletics is a privately held company owned by TechStyle OS.

Read more: Fabletics to Add 45 Stores in U.S. and Overseas in the Next Year (Women’s Wear Daily)

QSRs report mixed results for Q2 2026

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reported a 5.2% decline in U.S. comparable sales in Q2 2026. By contrast, Burger King, also owned by Restaurant Brands International, posted an 8.5% increase in U.S. comparable sales during the quarter. Meanwhile, McDonald's’s reported a modest 0.8% increase, reflecting another quarter of lackluster comparable sales growth.

What do you make of all of this?

It looks to me like Burger King's turnaround strategy appears to be working. For example, the company’s investments in remodeling, operations and value promotions appear to be resonating with consumers.

For Popeyes, has the novelty of the chicken sandwich launch faded? Is there too much competition with Chick-fil-A Restaurants, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Dave's Hot Chicken, Wingstop Restaurants Inc., KFC, etc? Is Popeyes 's chicken seen as too expensive relative to the competition; people can even buy fried chicken at their local supermarkets and rotisserie chicken at Costco Wholesale?

McDonald's lackluster performance is the most troubling because it is generally the QSR industry’s bellwether.

The mixed results tell me that consumers are still spending on QSR food, but they are increasingly choosing brands that offer the strongest perceived value.

In other words, the consumer isn’t pulling back from picking up food at fast food restaurants, but they’re becoming much more discriminating. How do you see it?

Read more: These Middle America brands are struggling in the street fight over consumers (Axios)

Henderson Park and Lowe buy Plaza Bonita, appoint Centennial to manage and lease

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) continues its disposition strategy of American mall assets, this time with the sale of Plaza Bonita (formerly known as Westfield Plaza Bonita) in National City, Calif. Spanning over 1 million square feet, the mall benefits heavily from its strategic location in San Diego’s South Bay, serving a densely populated community and capturing robust cross-border traffic from Mexican nationals.

Unlike struggling Class B malls, Plaza Bonita is classified as a Grade A– mall asset and features high and consistent traffic, robust sales performance, and a stable lineup of today's typical major anchors (including Target, Macy's, JCPenney, Nordstrom Rack, Round1 and AMC Theatres).

May Centers developed the property, which opened in 1981, anchored by JCPenney, Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward and the May Company. Those were the days when all malls were anchored exclusively by department stores.

URW disposed of Plaza Bonita as part of a broader, years-long strategic shift to radically reduce its financial exposure to the U.S. retail market and deleverage its balance sheet. Like other mall owners, URW has faced mounting pressures regarding commercial mortgages and today's declining market valuations across its U.S. holdings.

Many regional malls across the U.S., including Plaza Bonita, have experienced a compression in valuation compared to peak market years prior to the pandemic and the broader mall valuation correction. While URW originally held and valued the asset much higher as part of its massive U.S. portfolio, the macro environment for enclosed malls forced pricing downward, allowing the new owners to acquire the asset at a resetting market basis. The mall sold for $201.5M.

The new owners, private equity real estate firm Henderson Park and real estate investor, developer and manager Lowe through its Retail reVision division have appointed Centennial to manage and lease Plaza Bonita. Retail reVision primarily targets regional malls, lifestyle centers and power centers in supply-constrained, high-barrier-to-entry major metros with a strong footprint in California's most coveted markets like San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

The new owners plan to inject significant capital to refresh the property. No tear downs have been announced to date. Key plans focus on creating more inviting interior and exterior public spaces, enhanced plazas and upgraded outdoor dining areas to foster a community-gathering environment.

Eastdil Secured helped source the acquisition loan from Morgan Stanley.

Read more: Westfield Plaza Bonita sold for $201.5M (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Walmart's ESG initiatives show continued progress

RetailGreen Update: Walmart has cut direct emissions (as well as indirect emissions from purchased energy) by 7.5% over the past year and by almost 25% since 2016, according to its recent 2026 Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) report.

The company also exceeded its renewable electricity target, with more than half of its global electricity use coming from renewable sources. Walmart also diverted 84% of its global operational waste from landfills and invested in circularity initiatives, such as resale platforms and textile recycling pilots, to further reduce landfill disposal.

For shareholders, Walmart suggests that sustainability allows the company to:

- Reduce operating costs through greater energy efficiency.
- Improve supply chain resilience against disruptions.
- Meet evolving regulatory and investor expectations.
- Strengthen relationships with suppliers and customers.

In addition to environmental sustainability progress, the ESG report says that roughly 86% of above-entry-level U.S. positions were filled through internal promotions.

Read more: Walmart Reports Progress on Sustainability, Climate and Social Responsibility Initiatives (Women’s Wear Daily)

H&M is expanding its COS branded stores in North America

The upscale division of H&M is expanding its COS branded stores in North America, securing leases at top mall locations across the U.S., including Westfield Topanga near Los Angeles, Westfield Old Orchard near Chicago and Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. The first two will open this fall, and the third in the winter of 2027.

COS entered the Americas in 2014, establishing its initial stateside presence with flagship storefronts in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood and Beverly Hills, Calif. Since that debut, the brand has meticulously scaled its physical footprint across North America to encompass 12 stores in the United States, 7 in Canada and 1 in Mexico.

In addition to non-mall flagships in New York City (Fifth Avenue, SoHo and Brooklyn) and Los Angeles, COS currently has mall and retail hub locations at Westfield World Trade Center in New York City, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Santana Row in San Jose, The Galleria in Houston, Newbury Street in Boston, Oak Street in Chicago, Bellevue Square near Seattle, and the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford, N.J.

In Mexico, through a partnership with Sordo Madaleno’s subsidiary, Retail Franchise Group, upcoming stores will be in Artz Pedregal, Anima Los Cabos, Andares (Guadalajara), Punto Valle (Monterrey), San Pedro (Monterrey), and Antea (Querétaro).

COS currently has a network of 252 retail locations across 50 markets around the world. The group’s top markets by sales volume are China and South Korea. H&M is the world’s second-largest fashion retailer behind Inditex.

Read more: H&M Sets the Stage for Cos Expansion in USA and Mexico with Bold Opening Strategy (Modaes)

Retailtainment trend continues

"Retailtainment" is not new with more and more malls adding entertainment venues to their retail and dining offerings. Likewise, some retailers are launching new flagships to expand their retailtainment offerings, Ulta Beauty's new Times Square flagship under development comes to mind.

But are we likely to see more examples of retail and entertainment combined in the store experience?

Netflix House is one of the clearest recent examples of “retailtainment” within the store, which means a blending of retail, entertainment, dining and immersive experiences to drive foot traffic and customer engagement.

Netflix House sells merchandise that is tied to Netflix's intellectual property. It also offers themed restaurants, bars and specialty food offerings that extend the storytelling experience and rotating exhibits, seasonal attractions, live entertainment and special events to encourage repeat visits and patronizing its streaming channel. Just as notable is that the venue features highly photogenic environments designed to generate Instagram, TikTok and other social media sharing.

Retailtainment can occur within regular retail environments, not just the flashy TV and movie industry enhancing its merchandise displays. (RH) Restoration Hardware has quietly become one of the more interesting retailtainment case studies by combining furniture shopping and hospitality. The RH store in New York’s Meatpacking District spans 90,000 square feet across six levels and pairs the store with a rooftop restaurant, wine terrace and art installations.

Mars's M&Ms' Times Square flagship in Midtown Manhattan is one of the pioneering examples of retailtainment. In fact, it helped establish the model that many experiential retailers have followed over the past two decades.

There are many other tenant examples like Meow Wolf, Topgolf, Dave & Buster's Inc., CAMP and IT'SUGAR. Malls are equally bringing entertainment uses to enhance the retail experience. In the New York are alone, there is American Dream, Westfield World Trade Center, Palisades Center and Westfield Garden State Plaza, all with strong entertainment uses.

Retail property owners link the time customers spend at the property to an increase in sales per square foot, almost always resulting in higher market rents. Entertainment venues coupled with food can extend a visit from about an hour to several hours, which tends to increase spending across restaurants, apparel and specialty retail.

Do you think this trend is leveling off or about to increase in the next five years?

Read more: Meet the Malls and Immersive Districts Driving Retailtainment Growth, From New Jersey to Las Vegas (US Weekly)

Is Costco's standalone fuel station a new trend for membership-only cheap gas?

Costco Wholesale opened its first standalone, member-only gas station in Orange County, California. Located at 25732 El Paseo in Mission Viejo, facing the I-5 San Diego Freeway, the site features a 17,185-square-foot canopy with 40 fueling positions. No warehouse and no c-store is attached, but could this become a trend for membership-only cheap gas the likes of an Amazon Prime membership?

Fuel is not a loss leader for Costco, although the margin on gasoline is razor-thin. By offering prices significantly below the local average—in this case, roughly 71 cents cheaper than the Orange County average during grand opening—Costco incentivizes new memberships and encourages long-term loyalty among existing members.

Located just 3.5 miles away, the Laguna Niguel warehouse at 27972 Cabot Road is the closest Costco to the new Mission Viejo standalone gas station. Because both of the existing Laguna Niguel warehouses are already fully equipped with their own fuel stations, Costco's unique strategy in Mission Viejo wasn't driven by a lack of nearby fuel-equipped warehouses but rather as incremental exposure.

Costco has a second standalone gas station under development in Honolulu, projected to open in 2027, but future plans for a rollout of standalone fuel stations are sketchy.

Fuel is a major component of Costco's total business, consistently accounting for approximately 10% of total net sales.

The lowest priced annual membership that grants access to Costco’s fuel stations is the Gold Star Membership, which costs $65 per year. The average American driver uses approximately 490–530 gallons of gas per year. If a Costco warehouse club consistently undercuts competitors by even as low as $0.20 per gallon, the membership fee will likely pay for itself through fuel savings alone.

For motorists that are not typically Costco members, the savings on gas could generate a lot of income from new membership fees. If so, Costco could be at the cusp of becoming the low-cost gas provider in standalone stations, which could also add a smaller c-store component.

Neither Walmart nor BJ's Wholesale Club operates a network of standalone gas stations, except for one single Walmart gas station outside its corporate headquarters in Bentonville. If Costco's experiment pays off, it could spark a trend of other retailers adopting the membership-only fuel model.

Read more: Costco opens first standalone gas station (C-Store Dive)

Is Exemplar Luxury Group done with store closures?

Exemplar Luxury Group (ELG), formerly Saks Global has likely left its troubles behind, with very little chance of filing for Chapter 22 protection, the retail industry lingo for filing Chapter 11 twice.

ELG is now a much leaner company and is not burdened by debt. ELG aggressively hacked away at its physical footprint to ensure maximum productivity. The company went into bankruptcy with roughly 140 total locations across all banners and emerged with just 61 stores (15 Saks Fifth Avenue, 33 Neiman Marcus, one Bergdorf Goodman and 12 remaining Saks Off Fifth outlets).

Upon successfully completing its financial restructuring in June 2026, the company successfully shed nearly 75% of its $3.4 billion debt load and secured $500 million in exit financing.

ELG is likely done closing stores with the recently announced 112-year-old downtown Dallas flagship, which the company considered redundant to the NorthPark Center store. Predictably, we will see stabilization of existing locations, increase in same-store sales, return to profitability within the next three years, and we might even see footprint growth in the next decade.

Read more: Saks Global survived bankruptcy. Now comes the hard part. (CoStar News)

Burlington Stores sees more productivity in smaller prototype stores

Smaller is better, at least for Burlington Stores, Inc. Despite reducing store size to the new 25,000-sq-ft. prototype, total store sales volumes remain comparable, with a significant increase in sales per square foot productivity, and a decrease in occupancy costs compared to the former large boxes, many of which were 80,000 square feet and larger.

The transformation includes flexible fixtures, enhanced signage and brighter lighting. Burlington plans to have 1,500 stores by 2028, with 80% of new store openings reflecting the new smaller format.

Read more: Burlington’s Transformation: Downsizing Stores and Growing (Women’s Wear Daily)

South Florida retail projects morphing into mixed-use "live-work-shop-play" environments

South Florida retail projects, like many others throughout suburban communities around the country that are experiencing a housing shortage, are adding multifamily uses evolving the long-lived shopping centers into truly mixed-use properties. Some examples:

- The Bainbridge Companies will redevelop The Mall at Wellington Green in Palm Beach County, adding a 620-unit apartment project, a clubhouse and a parking garage on the former Nordstrom site.

- Simon Property Group plans to redevelop the former Sears site at Town Center at Boca Raton into a mixed-use project with a 197-room hotel, 374 apartments and 157,000 square feet of retail.

- Washington Prime Group Inc. plans to redevelop Boynton Beach Mall into a mixed-use project, with at least 1,700 apartments, which includes the Macy's site.

- Russell Galbut unveiled updated plans for the redevelopment of The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale into a mixed-use district with nine 30-story towers, more than 3,000 apartments, a 170-room hotel, office space, 30 restaurants and revamped retail.

- Whitman Family Development plans to expand Bal Harbour Shops with three 275-foot towers, including offices, a hotel and 500 apartments.

- Affiliates of Midtown Opportunity Fund plan to redevelop The Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami by adding to the retail property seven towers ranging from 12 to 33 stories, 1,513 residences, a 287-room hotel, a 1,300-seat movie theater, offices, restaurants and entertainment uses.

- Simon Property Group is redeveloping Miami International Mall as a mixed-use development, where Greystar has proposed an 896-unit apartment project on the former Sears and JCPenney sites.

What’s driving all this?

Retail properties are increasingly transforming into mixed-use developments with multifamily housing to maximize underutilized land and diversify revenue streams against market forces volatility.

Driven by changing consumer preferences toward walkable, sustainable, and convenient "live-work-shop-play" neighborhoods, these redevelopments inject a built-in customer base directly above or adjacent to existing stores, effectively boosting foot traffic and retail sales.

Moreover, combining retail and residential uses allows developers to address severe housing shortages and capitalize on the resilient demand for multifamily units, creating a symbiotic ecosystem that achieves accelerated lease-up periods, higher rental premiums for both retail and apartments, and long-term asset appreciation.

Read more: Mixed-use mania: Mapping mall redevelopments planned in South Florida (The Real Deal)

CJ Olive Young moving forward with U.S. brick-and-mortar store expansion

South Korea's beauty and lifestyle retailer, CJ OLIVE YOUNG, is aggressively executing a multi-phase brick-and-mortar expansion plan to tap into the booming U.S. demand for K-beauty products.

The retail chain, which already operates more than 1,380 stores across South Korea with annual sales exceeding $4.2 billion, opened its first 8,647-square-foot flagship store in Old Pasadena, Calif. (at the historic Tiffany & Shops building on Colorado Blvd.) on May 29, 2026. This was quickly followed by a 2,700-square-foot store at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles in June 2026.

The retailer plans to have five physical stores operating across California and the broader Western U.S. by early 2027.

To support future expansion, Olive Young has built a major distribution center in Bloomington, Calif. (San Bernardino County) to handle fulfillment for both physical retail supply and online orders.

The company has announced that its next major geographic target for brick-and-mortar stores will be in the New York area, followed by expansion into key eastern and south-central U.S. markets.

In addition to its branded stores, Olive Young is partnering with SEPHORA to introduce dedicated "K-beauty zones" online and in physical stores across the U.S. and Canada, dramatically accelerating brand awareness among mainstream shoppers. While Ulta Beauty carries a wide variety of individual K-beauty brands like COSRX, Peach & Lily, and Banila Co USA, Olive Young products are not yet sold at Ulta.

The U.S. K-beauty craze is driven by a shift toward a gentle, "skin-first" philosophy that prioritizes hydration and prevention over heavy makeup. Fueled by the global rise of K-pop music and K-dramas on Netflix, viral TikTok trends, and advanced, budget-friendly ingredients, these products have transitioned into mainstream American retail.

Read more: Retailer Olive Young's expansion mirrors K-beauty demand in US (CoStar News)

Black Rock Coffee Bar to grow five-fold

Black Rock Coffee Bar is putting the capital it raised in its IPO last year to work in an aggressive expansion that will take the western coffee chain from 190 locations now open to more than 1,000 units nationwide by 2035.

To do so, the chain has brought on Jon Vingo, a restaurant veteran with Skillets Restaurants, Bloomin'​ Brands, Inc. and Panera Bread, as the new chief development officer where he’ll oversee real estate and site selection.

Black Rock Coffee Bar currently has locations in only seven states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington. The largest concentration of its restaurants can be found in Arizona (where the company is currently headquartered) and Texas.

The chain plans to open 36 new restaurants in 2026 in existing Southwest and Pacific Northwest markets but has started evaluating new markets with potential new market entries in 2027 and 2028, according to CEO Mark Davis, MBA.

About 55% of Black Rock’s sales come from coffee while energy drinks make up 25%. Food, a growing category, already makes up 13%.

Black Rock is shifting toward more reverse build-to-suit leases in the near-term as it aims for greater speed to market. Prototype locations call for dual-format foundational (drive-thru plus lobbies). Roughly three-quarters of its locations feature indoor seating to foster a community-driven coffeehouse environment.

As Black Rock aggressively scales its growth, the company can adapt its modular drive-thru-only format for specific tight-space real estate markets where indoor lobbies aren't feasible.

Read more: Black Rock Coffee Bar names development chief; eyes 1,000 locations by 2035 (Chain Store Age)

How retailers choose between storefronts and mall inline space

Some retailers seek only storefront street locations while others seek inline spaces in high traffic malls. Some retailers need both types of exposure.

The retail real estate professional has to understand the retailer’s goals when selecting space.

Storefronts, whether street-level retail or unique freestanding stores in open-air shopping centers, offer brand independence, direct access, great visibility and flexible operating hours.

Mall spaces provide high, consistent foot traffic, shared security, amenities and tremendous cross-shopping opportunities within a managed complex.

Read more: Here’s why vacant downtown storefronts can be hard to lease (CoStar News)