A&G Real Estate Partners is marketing Walgreens leases and company-owned parcels

A&G Real Estate Partners, LLC has begun marketing Walgreens leases and company-owned parcels.

The portfolio includes 78 properties, 60 of which are locations leased from landlords that are offered as subleases or possibly direct new leases. In the latter, A&G can negotiate with the landlord on behalf of the tenant insterested in acquiring the site, according to A&G Co-President Emilio Amendola.

The remaining locations are existing Walgreens stores, shuttered stores or undeveloped land currently fee-owned by Walgreens and are being offered for sale.

The Walgreens buildings range from 2,070 to 23,509 square feet while the undeveloped fee-owned parcels range from 0.12 to 20.86 acres.

If you recall, A&G is the same broker that sold off RITE AID leases under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to Dollar Tree Stores, Five Below, Burlington Stores, Inc., Ross Stores, Inc., Ace Hardware Corporation and several grocery chains. According A&G Principal Joseph McKeska, A&G also sold 50 fee-owned Rite Aid properties to investors and developers.

However, Walgreens, which is not in bankruptcy, does not have the same leverage to peddle leases as was the case with Rite-Aid.

In a normal business deal, if Walgreens wants to sell its lease to a different retailer, the landlord often has the right to block it via an "anti-assignment" clause.

In bankruptcy, these clauses are generally unenforceable. The bankruptcy court can force a landlord to accept a new tenant (assignee) as long as that tenant can prove financial stability sufficient enough to pay future rent obligations under the existing lease.

Since Walgreens is not currently in bankruptcy, the process of selling leases is much more difficult:

- The company with assistance from A&G must negotiate with each individual landlord to buy out the lease or get permission to sublease or assign.

- Without the typical bankruptcy cap on damages, Walgreens will likely have to pay much higher termination fees to walk away from a location.

- Landlords have more power to reject a new tenant if they don't think that tenant fits their tenant mix, credit profile or can achieve market rent through direct negotiations.

Walgreens Boots Alliance underwent a significant shift in late 2025 when it was acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners for approximately $10 billion.

The current marketing of leases is part of a multi-year plan to close roughly 1,200 underperforming stores. While original estimates for 2026 suggested 700 closures, the new ownership has reportedly scaled that back to fewer than 100 closures for this year to focus on stabilizing the remaining healthy stores.

Read more: A&G offering 78 Walgreens properties nationwide (Mass Market Retailers)

Albertsons to spend $2.2B on CapEx for store upgrades and technology

Albertsons plans to spend $2.2B on CapEx this year, focusing on store upgrades and technological enhancements.

The supermarket chain spent over $1.8 billion on capital expenditures during fiscal 2025. The company upgraded 94 stores last year and added nine new locations, but intends to accelerate that pace during fiscal 2026, perhaps adding around 14 or 15 new stores this year.

CEO Susan Morris said that Albertsons believes investing in its stores will play a central role in maintaining shopper engagement and encouraging people to direct their business its way.

After the $24.6B Kroger–Albertsons merger was blocked by federal and state courts in December 2024, Albertsons remains one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S., with thousands of stores and multiple banners (Safeway, VONS, Jewel Osco, Tom Thumb Supermarket, Randalls Food Market, etc.).

Read more: Albertsons looks to store remodels and technology to juice growth (Grocery Dive)

ALDI USA has been testing new formats in Florida

ALDI USA has been testing new formats in Florida aimed at modernizing Aldi’s physical retail presence while preserving the operational simplicity that underpins its low-price (mostly private-label) strategy.

Trials of the new prototype began in late 2025 in Aventura, a notable choice given Florida’s importance as one of Aldi’s fastest-growing regions.

The redesign introduces a modular system that can flex across a range of store sizes and formats, from traditional suburban supermarkets to compact urban locations. While Aldi has historically relied on standardized layouts built for speed, efficiency and lean staffing, the updated model is designed to be more adaptable — allowing stores to respond to local real estate constraints and evolving shopping behaviors without compromising cost discipline.

Globally, Aldi Süd operates more than 7,500 stores across 11 countries, with the U.S. standing as its largest and most dynamic market. The company now runs more than 2,400 stores nationwide and has steadily moved up the ranks of America’s leading grocery chains by store count.

The new design was developed by Australia-based Landini Associates.

Read more: First Look At New Aldi Format Set To Rollout Across The U.S. (Forbes)

Crunch Fitness is expanding in neighborhood and community centers

Crunch Fitness continues to expand.

Chequan Lewis, president of Crunch Fitness says the company is planning around 100 new locations, domestically and internationally, for 2026. In 2025 alone, Crunch signed leases for approximately 4.27 million square feet of space, which is a 48% jump from 2024, according to CoStar Group.

Lewis said that the most successful Crunch locations are those that fit seamlessly into a member’s daily routine, for example, locations anchored by grocery stores, discount retailers and everyday service businesses.

Affordability, convenience and efficiency are what consumers prioritize, and the company’s site selection strategy is built around those principles, he told Chain Store Age.

Grocery-anchored centers illustrate this approach well. Crunch’s peak hours — typically between 5 and 6 p.m. — align naturally with after-work shopping trips, allowing both the gym and neighboring tenants to benefit from shared foot traffic.

Adaptive reuse has also become a key strategy for landlords. Crunch is repurposing second- and third-generation retail spaces into gyms, reducing build-out costs while taking advantage of established, high-traffic locations that are already familiar to its target customers.

Read more: Q&A: Crunch Fitness president talks expansion plans, gym category trends (Chain Store Age)

7-Eleven will shutter 645 struggling stores and open new larger locations

Amid a national trend toward bigger c-stores from growing competitive convenience store chains like Wawa, Inc., Sheetz and Buc-ee's, Ltd., the parent company of 7-Eleven will shutter 645 locations during its 2026 fiscal year to swap struggling stores for larger footprints.

This isn’t simply a wave of closures—it’s a strategic repositioning. The company is shifting into an expansion phase that replaces older, smaller locations with larger, food-centric stores.

Across 2024 and 2025, 7-Eleven has closed more than 600 stores, including nearly 450 in North America. At the same time, it plans to open 122 stores this year while closing 373, followed by a more aggressive push next year with 205 openings and 645 closures. All of this aligns with a broader plan to add 500 new stores between 2025 and 2027.

Read more: 7-Eleven will close 600 stores this year to prepare for massive makeover (New York Post)

Saks and Neiman store closures are good or bad for retail landlords

The closure of a full-line Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus store will be pure hell for some malls but a blessing for others.

You have to look at the stores on a case-by-case basis, but in some cases, the closures can wreak havoc to the shopping center’s luxury positioning and cotenancy provisions while in other cases can provide an opportunity for landlords to redevelop that space in a much more financially advantageous way.

Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix and Fashion Show Las Vegas, will do well even with their Saks Global stores closing, as those landlords can re-lease the space at much higher rents per square foot. But for The Collection at Chevy Chase in Maryland; The Summit in Birmingham, Alabama; The Shops at Canal Place in New Orleans; Triangle Town Center in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Utica Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the loss of Saks Fifth Avenue stores may be damaging.

Read more: Mall owners plot how to fill Saks Global’s abandoned space (CoStar News)

Bed Bath & Beyond combines with The Container Store under one roof

Combining the traditional merchandise categories of Bed Bath & Beyond with The Container Store within the latter’s existing store portfolio has the potential to fill a clear, market-driven gap—if executed with discipline.

Layering in bedding, bath, textiles, kitchen, entertaining essentials, home services, flooring, lighting and cabinetry alongside The Container Store’s core strength in organization—especially custom closet design—could create a differentiated, all-in-one home solution that is largely absent in today’s brick-and-mortar landscape. But to do this quickly the right real estate is needed, and it comes as part of the package.

Real estate has been the strongest element of The Container Store from the outset; all locations painstakingly curated and negotiated by Valerie Richardson, who headed the company’s real estate for years. The existing leases is the most valuable asset that Bed Bath & Beyond is acquiring in this deal.

The Container Store’s portfolio of 100+ high-quality locations in affluent, high-traffic trade areas offers the right real estate foundation: strong visibility, easy access and box sizes capable of supporting a broader, integrated concept under one roof.

Both brands enjoy strong recognition and appeal, and they are complementary rather than redundant. Customers drawn to premium organization are often the same consumers willing to invest in higher-end bedding, kitchenware and home solutions.

That said, realizing this vision will require sharp brand positioning and disciplined execution. Branding experts will be essential to distill the combined offering into a clear, cohesive and compelling identity, not just The Container Store / Bed Bath & Beyond.

Read more: Bed Bath & Beyond adds Container Store to its shopping cart for $150 million (CoStar News)

Asian retailers rapidly expanding in the U.S.

Asian retailers are rapidly expanding in the U.S., and there's no better example than the New York area's massive retail-entertainment complex, American Dream in East Rutherford, N.J.

Per my latest count of the megamall's offerings, there were 50 Asian tenants, including famous global brands and newer players as POP MART, MINISO USA, Kiokii and..., H Mart, Rolife by Robotime-Total Puzzle Solution, heytea, Hello Kitty, ALAND USA, Ebisu Lifestyle Store (colorado), GENTLE MONSTER, A BATHING APE®, EP YAYING雅莹, Jollibee Group North America, Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., Kung Fu Tea, Hey! I am Yogost Indonesia, Naixue Tea & Bakery of United States, Real Fruit Bubble Tea, Vanessa's Dumpling House, Little Sheep Hot Pot, Sushi Express Group Pte. Ltd., Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs, Szechuan Opera, Lady M Confections Co., Ltd., Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, Wagyu House and Chubby Sushi (by Chubby Group), YOYOSO and many others.

The trend to pursue Asian retailers expanding in North America is led by Triple Five Group's visionaries like Raphael Ghermezian, Don Ghermezian, Laura DeSwart and others who truly understand retail and how Asian retail is the wave of the 2020s in America.

Asian retailers not only cater to American tastes but they also attract Asian Americans and Asian tourists. American Dream's New York Metro trade area has among the largest highest-earning Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) population in the U.S. (2.5M residents with median HH income of $86,450 and 2.9M tourists). In the New York area, Asian retailers are also expanding to Flushing (Queens), which has a strong street retail hub and Koreatown in Manhattan.

In California, Asian retailers are moving heavily into Great Mall of the Bay Area (Milpitas), Stonestown Galleria (San Francisco) and Asian Garden Mall (Westminster, a Little Saigon hub in Orange County).

Asian retailers seek top-tier luxury and tourist-oriented malls like Aventura Mall (north of Miami), King of Prussia Mall (Philadelphia suburbs), Lenox Square (Atlanta), and Bellevue Square (near Seattle).

However, this phenomenon is not exclusively coastal. These global chains are opening locations in Austin (Gateway Shopping Center and Barton Creek Square), Houston (Chinatown and nearby malls), Dallas suburbs, Asia Mall (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Woodfield Mall (Schaumburg, Ill.), Streets of Woodfield (north of Chicago), and Fashion Outlets of Chicago (Rosemont).

How do you get your share of this trend? The property has to be located in a market where Asian-Americans live and/or tourists from Asia flock. Analyze your demographics and check to see if there are grocery stores that cater to Asian tastes near your property.

But, most importantly, your leasing efforts have to reach out to Asian retailers and their brokers.

Read more: Asian Retail Brands Are Chasing Space in the U.S. (ICSC Commerce + Communities Today)

Does the "Market by Macy's" concept need more tweaking to survive?

Macy's continues to execute its strategy of shifting focus from in-mall, larger locations toward smaller, suburban, open-air centers.

Thus far, Macy's has opened over 30 to 35 small-format stores (roughly 30,000–50,000 sq. ft.), with plans to expand this concept. But is this experiment working?

Consider this: Macy’s has already closed five of these newer small format stores in Southlake, Texas; Flower Mound, Texas; Johns Creek, Ga.; WestBend in Fort Worth, Texas and the latest in Ramsey, N.J. The latter is surrounded by The TJX Companies, Inc.’s T.J. Maxx, Burlington Stores, Inc., DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Old Navy, all successful retail locations.

The Macy’s small format stores are more like mini versions of the Macy’s full line department stores than the value-oriented treasure-hunt locations operated by TJX, Nordstrom Rack, Ross Stores, Inc. and Burlington. All of them are located in open-air community centers.

Can Macy’s make the "Market by Macy's" concept more appealing to customers?

The Macy’s storefront sign barely had time to leave an imprint on the paint underneath it as the store closed permanently after a relatively brief run of roughly two years at the Interstate Shopping Center in Ramsey, New Jersey. The center is owned by a joint venture between Wafra Inc. and Crossroads Companies.

Some fitness chains seek large boxes; others, smaller inline space

Fitness chains continue to expand looking for retail space at open-air community centers, mostly grocery-anchored, where space availability is low.

While larger chains like Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness, EōS Fitness and LA Fitness are signing leases for the few large spaces that become available for lease in 2026, 2027 and 2028 at community centers, boutique fitness tenants such as Club Pilates, SoulCycle Inc., F45 Training, YogaSix, Orangetheory Fitness and others have smaller square footage requirements, and thus more leeway to snatch up good space in today’s high occupancy environment.

The large chains usually monitor large impending vacancies from retailers like Kroger, Party City, Joann Fabrics, Family Dollar, Rite Aid, Bed Bath & Beyond, Big Lots, Conn’s, Tuesday Morning and others that through bankruptcy or mass closures are abandoning good space at properties that have ample parking.

Fitness tenants typically pay below-average retail rents because they use large spaces and require significant build-out. However, landlords accept the lower rent because gyms drive repeat daily traffic and commit to long lease terms (10–20 years).

Read more: Fitness chains beef up at retail centers (Chain Store Age)

Gen Z’s in-store spending growth is outpacing all other generations

Mall revival: Gen Z’s retail-spending growth is outpacing all other generations, according to NielsenIQ, with the generation’s global annual retail spending expected to exceed $12 trillion by 2030. Gen Zers spend a greater proportion of their discretionary dollars in physical stores than older generations, according to Circana.

The reason this is important, is because the millennial generation never warmed to hanging out at the mall in the same way Gen X had or Gen Z is doing.

Shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 bought 62% of their total GAFO purchases in stores rather than ordered them online last year. Shoppers ages 25 and older, by contrast, made 52% of their purchases in person, according to Circana.

Who stands to benefit from this trend? Certainly mall owners and operators like Simon Property Group, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Macerich and other companies, but so do retailers that cater to Gen Z: Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Madewell, Urban Outfitters, Nike, UNIQLO, PACSUN, SKIMS, Glossier, Inc. and even more obscure names like Catbird NYC, a jewelry brand catering to Gen Zers with a "magical atmosphere" that feels like a discovery rather than a transaction.

Perhaps the zest for in-person experiences is due to Gen Zers spending their formative years under pandemic lockdown.

Read more: A New Generation of Mall Rats Has Arrived (The Wall Street Journal)

BJ's Wholesale Club ramps up store count

BJ's Wholesale Club will expand its footprint with more warehouse clubs. The company opened 14 clubs last year, the most its ever added in a single year. Including those, the company remains on track to open up to 30 new locations by year end. Due to the existing pipeline of leases in negotiation, the company expects this pace of openings to continue over the coming years, according to chairman and CEO Bob Eddy.

BJ's Wholesale Club currently operates 263 clubs and 199 fuel locations in 21 states.

Read more: BJ’s Wholesale Forecasts Higher Expenses With More Store Openings (The Wall Street Journal)

Nordstrom expansion continues for off-price unit

While Saks Global is practically abandoning its off-price channel with plans to close most of its Saks OFF 5TH locations, Nordstrom, which started as a shoe store in 1901, continues to expand its off-price brand.

Nordstrom, Inc., now operating as a private company, is rapidly expanding its discount concept with 22 new Rack locations announced to open in 2026 across the U.S.

Signed leases will result in new Rack stores in Sarasota, Fla.; Pompano Beach, Fla.; Lake Nona, Fla. (near Orlando); Tampa, Fla.; Encinitas, Calif.; Elmwood, La.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Canton, Ohio; Fairlawn, Ohio; Deptford, N.J.; East Brunswick, N.J.; Marlton, N.J.; Plymouth, Mass.; Mansfield, Mass.; Williamsburg, Va.; Spokane, Wash.; Park City, Utah; Columbia, Mo.; Atlanta, Ga.; Media, Penn.; Exton, Penn. and Rockville, Md.

Most 2026 openings range between 23,000 and 31,000 square feet. Larger format locations like Spokane, Wash. (31,000 sq. ft.), Marlton, N.J. (30,000 sq. ft.) and Exton and Media, Penn. (30,000 sq. ft. each) are being placed in premier power centers alongside major anchors like Walmart, IKEA or Ulta Beauty. Compact format stores in Mansfield, Mass. (23,700 sq. ft.) and Canton, Ohio (23,800 sq. ft.) are tailored for smaller footprint lifestyle centers.

The upcoming openings show Nordstrom’s deliberate shift toward open-air shopping centers and lifestyle hubs (like Atlantic Station in Atlanta or Pinnacle at Turkey Creek in Knoxville) rather than traditional enclosed malls where Nordstrom operates full-line department stores.

The last time Nordstrom opened a brand-new, full-line department store was on October 24, 2019, in New York City. However, on March 6, 2025, Nordstrom opened a new 138,000-square-foot full-line store at Fashion Place Mall (Murray, Utah), which was relocated from another space within the same mall.

The Rack concept now represents about three-fourths of Nordstrom’s 390-plus stores nationwide. Amid rising demand for off-price retail concepts, which includes continued expansion by The TJX Companies, Inc., Burlington Stores, Inc. and Ross Stores, Inc., Nordstrom continues to expand Nordstrom Rack. It added about 20 locations last year.

Spend growth at off-price chains is among the strongest in retail, ‌with gains ⁠across all income segments, recently led by lower-income shoppers but with solid growth from middle- and higher-income households as well, Michael Gunther, CFA, SVP of research and market intelligence at ConsumerEdge Research told Reuters.

Read more: Nordstrom Rack adds more store openings — here is the 2026 lineup (chain Store Age)

TJX to open 146 stores; three-fourths in the U.S.

Driven by strong sales in 2025 and a solid start to 1Q2026, The TJX Companies, Inc. plans to open 146 new stores in 2026, bringing its total global footprint over 5,300. Nearly three-quarters of new store openings will be in the U.S.

The company also plans over 540 remodels of existing stores and plans to relocate ~40 others to better-performing sites this year. The latter proves that just because the store a leasing person wants is already located in a nearby shopping center, the retailer can be convinced to relocate the store.

The retail chain is a big believer in brick-and-mortar retail and has proven success in drawing customers to its stores year after year. "We remain confident that in-store shopping is not going away and believe our focus on offering customers an exciting treasure hunt shopping experience every day will continue to serve us well," CEO Ernie Herrman said in the earnings call this week.

T.J. Maxx and Marshalls remain the company’s largest brands, with over 2,500 combined U.S. locations.

HomeGoods is the brand with the largest long-term store growth potential. TJX aims to nearly double this concept's U.S. footprint from ~1,000 to 1,800 locations over the next decade. Homesense, a newer U.S. home concept (distinct from HomeGoods) focuses on large-scale furniture and decor.

Sierra, the activewear and outdoor concept is a key growth vehicle, with plans to eventually reach over 325 stores nationwide.

Read more: TJX goes on offense as rivals struggle to keep pace (EMarketer)

Warby Parker to open 50 stores in 2026

Warby Parker plans to open about 50 new retail stores in 2026 as a key growth driver, following the successful opening of 47 new stores in 2025.

The 50 new stores will be mostly located in existing markets. Warby Parker ended 2025 with 323 locations, but the company envisions a long-term potential for 900+ retail stores.

Read more: Warby Parker posts first full year of net income profit; plans 50 stores in 2026 (Chain Store Age)

Under new ownership, Black Diamond Capital Management can redevelop Palisades Center mega-mall in West Nyack, NY to thrive again

The biggest problem Palisades Center faced since 2016 was not e-commerce competition but servicing and refinancing the $418.5 million mortgage loan, which was exceedingly higher than the property was worth since mall valuations plummeted post-pandemic throughout the country. That has all changed with the foreclosure sale of the embattled property in February 2026.

Now, with the full acquisition of the distressed mall property at today's market price of $175 million, Black Diamond Capital Management has the ability to determine the mega-mall's destiny and monetize its investment in the asset.

Certainly, there is a need for multifamily, hotel, retail and industrial uses to locate in Rockland County, NY, which the new owners can capitalize on.

While I don’t envision a total demolition of the mall structure, I can see separating the former JCPenney and Lord & Taylor buildings from the structure, and rebuilding those on land currently used as part of the vast parking field, perhaps as hotel, multifamily, industrial/logistics and grocery-anchored strip center where the site can be reconfigured for optimum income.

The Town of Clarkstown has lost a major tax contributor as the mall has declined over the years, and I’m sure the Town Board recognizes that they will need to allow rezoning of the site for its viability in the 2020s and beyond.

Read more: One of the biggest U.S. malls sells for steep discount at auction (CoStar News)

Krystal Restaurants is finally expanding in the Northeast

Krystal Restaurants LLC is opening a QSR on March 2, 2026 at 2200 Route 22 East in Union, New Jersey. What’s so unusual about that?

It marks Krystal’s debut in the Northeast and a major milestone in the brand’s 93-year history.

Krystal restaurants, both company-owned and franchised, are primarily located across the Southeastern United States, with a high concentration of locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The chain also has a presence in Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

The company has confidence that Krystal’s food and guest experience will resonate well beyond the South, according to Kaitlin Kees, senior director of marketing at Krystal.

Krystal moved its headquarters from Chattanooga to the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody in early 2013. Krystal is a subsidiary of SPB Hospitality, a multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Krystal is known for its small, square hamburgers, called sliders, with steamed-in onions since its founding in 1932. Krystal has expanded to 11 states and Puerto Rico with nearly 300 restaurants. New Jersey will be the 12th state and the only state in the Northeast.

The N.J. location is led by franchise partner Victor Cruz, a former New York Giants wide receiver, Super Bowl XLVI champion and sportscaster, who is bringing the beloved slider brand to his home state.

Read more: Krystal makes its debut in the Northeast (Nation's Restaurant News)

One parcel – multiple assessments? Mistakes lease administration professionals make can be costly

Understanding component assessments can mean $510k in value on some leases.

In commercial leases, especially retail leases, it is common to see that tenants can, or should, be billed based upon the square footage of the property excluding portions of the property that are separately assessed. Sounds pretty simple and straightforward, doesn’t it? But in that one sentence, there can be dozens of variations on the requirement.

For example:

• The tenant shall be billed based upon …

• The tenant may be billed based upon…

Variations of the shall and may:

• …are separately assessed…

• … are separately assessed and are the sole responsibility of another party…

• …. are separately assessed and billed to another party …

These tiny little nuances may seem like nothing. But that can make a material difference in what a landlord bills, and thus, can greatly affect the landlord’s absorption or leakage.

In a few U.S. states, there is an often overlooked factor outside of the leases. In the majority of states, when we have just one tax parcel, all of the buildings on that parcel are valued as one economic unit. However, in some cases, there is a component assessment performed and provided by the various municipalities.

The natural inclination is one parcel, one assessment. However, when you do a bit of digging, you may find that the assessors have assigned an assessment to each individual building or set of buildings within one parcel, and the values and the related taxes on a per square foot basis.

That means that your lease administration professionals have to exercise caution when interpreting leases to bill tenants for their share of expenses.

Read more: One parcel – multiple assessments? Understanding component assessments can mean $510k in value on this example property. (What's new in lease administration Blog)

BJ's Wholesale Club opens second small-format store

BJ's Wholesale Club is opening its second small-format store in Delray Beach, Fla. on Jan. 30, 2026.  At 55,000 square feet, the new BJ's Market is about half the size of a typical BJ’s Wholesale Club location. BJ’s first introduced its BJ's Market concept in Warwick, R.I., in 2022.

The company previously announced plans to open 25 to 30 new stores in its 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, including openings in Sumter, S.C.; Springfield, Mass.; Casselberry, Fla.; Selma, N.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and the new Market concept in Delray Beach. There are 280 BJ's locations in 21 states.

Read more: BJ’s Wholesale Club to Open Small-Format ‘Market’ in Delray Beach (StoreBrands)

Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming is rapidly expanding store count

Pet food is the largest sector in the $151B+ U.S. pet industry, holding ~40% of spend, while grooming/boarding represents a fast-growing, high-margin service segment (roughly $12B).

While a lot of pet food is sold online, pet food and grooming retailers continue to expand. PetSmart and Petco are the largest, most dominant, comprehensive pet retailers in North America, offering both extensive pet food, supplies, and, in many locations, professional grooming services.

PetSmart leads in total stores (1,700+) and revenue ($9.8B+), followed closely by Petco (1,300+ stores). Other major players include Pet Supplies Plus and Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming.

Woof Gang, in particular, has been growing through franchising. Woof Gang reported $150 million in system-wide sales for 2025, representing a 25% year-over-year total sales increase. The franchise operator, which is based in Orlando, Fla. focused expansion in the Midwest, Northeast and West Coast regions.

Woof Gang opened its 300th location this month in The Villages, Florida as it continues to ramp up expansion. Woof Gang had opened 150 stores in its first 15 years of operation but has doubled that count just in the past three years.

According to Ricardo Azevedo, CEO of Woof Gang, the company is seeking franchisees to open more stores across the country. Woof Gang plans to operate approximately 450 stores across North America by the end of 2027.

Read more: Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming reaches $150M in sales (WATT Global Media)