Content about South Carolina

For the fourth consecutive year, there still is not enough ground-up shopping center construction to justify the "Fastest-Growing Developers" ranking that was Chain Store Age standard fare for two decades.

But we may be edging closer to resurrecting a ranking based on who is building new (or, more accurately, newly repurposed) space. Closer, but still not there.

Columbia, S.C. -- Golfsmith International is opening its first South Carolina store, in the state capital of Columbia, with a grand opening celebration on May 3 to May 5.
   
The 23,500-sq.-ft. store is part of Golfsmith's aggressive growth strategy in the Carolinas. Adding to its current Raleigh location, the company recently expanded with new stores in Charlotte and Greensboro — with another new store opening in Myrtle Beach later this spring.

Residents of tony Hilton Head Island, S.C., are getting the one thing they don’t currently have: a Kroger Marketplace, situated in the sprawling 42-acre mixed-use project under development by Kroger Real Estate and Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial.

(Click here to see photos)

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Inc. on Tuesday announced plans for two new stores, one in Greenville, S.C., and the other in Woodbury, Minn.

Cabela’s expects to open the Greenville store – its first South Carolina location – in spring 2014. The 100,000-sq.-ft. store will be located in Magnolia Park, a newly redeveloped shopping center.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens and BMW Manufacturing on Tuesday celebrated the grand opening of a comprehensive worksite health center on the BMW campus in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
The 25,000-sq. ft. facility, managed by Walgreens Employer Solutions Group, will provide BMW associates, dependents and eligible retirees a wide range of health services, including primary and occupational care.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores announced the grand opening of 12 stores, creating approximately 1,500 jobs nationwide. The company now operates 1,146 stores in 49 states.

The company is celebrating the grand opening of 12 stores in 10 states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Of the 12 new locations, 11 are small format stores with approximately 64,000 sq. ft. or less of retail space.

Charlottesville, Va. -- Columbia, S.C.-based Edens said that Trader Joe’s is among the anchor tenants of its new Shops at Stonefield development, under construction in Charlottesville, Va.

The Shops at Stonefield will begin opening stores and restaurants in November 2012. Tenants include Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Langford Market and Trader Joe's. Edens said it is also working with local retailer Blue Ridge Mountain Sports on a new flagship store.

Salisbury, N.C. -- Food Lion on Wednesday expanded its new brand strategy to 269 stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. With the expansion, Food Lion has more than 700 locations operating under rebranding, representing more than 60% of its store base. 

The new strategy offers customers lower prices on 6,000 items, a greater emphasis on private brands,  enhanced produce and an easy and convenient shopping experience, such as faster checkout. To support its new strategy, the company created approximately 800 new jobs.

Charleston, S.C. -- Colonial Candle said it is opening its first retail and research boutique in Charleston, S.C. The 3,000-sq.-ft. flagship store is the 103-year-old candle company's first and only boutique.

Located in The Shops at Charleston Place, the Colonial Candle boutique joins Godiva, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Lacoste at the center.
 
The new store is slated to open in early fall 2012.

Dallas -- 7-Eleven has entered into an agreement with Sam's Mart LLC to acquire 55 Sam's Mart stores in North and South Carolina and convert them to 7-Eleven stores this year. Local contractors will be hired for the remodeling program to begin later this year.

The transaction is anticipated to close in February, subject to standard closing conditions and regulatory approvals.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Westboro, Mass. -- Micros-Retail, a division of Micros Systems, announced Tuesday that Pendleton has selected it to redesign and re-launch pendleton-usa.com.

In its seventh year, the annual Top Redevelopers survey took a little turn. Chain Store Age’s coverage of the prior year’s redevelopment highlights has been expanded to include an additional six-month period in order to make the results as current as possible. So, instead of covering redevelopment projects that occurred during calendar year 2010, this year’s results include the first six months of 2011, as well.