Phili. Retail Growth
While the 1995 Christmas season may have disappointed a lot of retailers, all that gloom and doom was eclipsed by visions of a future rosy with possibilities as representatives of retail chains described their plans to expand in the Philadelphia area. On December 14th, representatives from the International Council of Shopping Centers, retailers and the real estate industry huddled with regional shopping-center developers to see how many of those rosy plans could be translated into signed leases.
"The mood in the industry is positive, but with all these changes, I'm not sure why," ICSC executive William H. McCabe Jr., a New England developer, told some of the 1,700 delegates who attended the two-day conference. Here's what area consumers can expect in the next year or two: - Target Stores, plans 31 stores in the region. Target has $13.6 billion in annual sales and 683 stores - the closest in Washington. "We view the Philadelphia market as an extension," said Scott Nelson, Target's real estate manager. Most new Target stores are 120,000 square feet. Office Depot, an office-product superstore serving small businesses, plans to build 10 to 12 30,000-square-foot stores in the area. Locations it is considering include Cherry Hill, Moorestown, Springfield in Delaware County, Willow Grove, Northeast Philadelphia, King of Prussia, Plymouth Meeting and West Wilmington. Moovies Inc., a video-rental chain, plans 25 stores by the end of 1996. The company, based in South Carolina, was formed by merging several independent operators, in the Phili. area. Best Buy, a home electronics chain, plans to open seven stores in the Philadelphia area by spring and cap the market with 12 by the end of 1997. Dick's Clothing & Sporting Goods, a 40-store chain based in western Pennsylvania, plans to expand by 12 to 15 stores per year. In 1996, it will open four in the region -- in Exton, Oxford Valley, Franklin Mills and Moorestown. Hollywood Video, of Oregon, plans to add 200 stores across the country and is looking for locations in the region. Toys R Us, of Paramus, N.J., is scouting locations for it's two new concepts, 42,000-to-45,000-square-foot Babies R Us stores and a Toys R Us superstore, which combines Toys R Us, Kids R Us and Babies R Us under one roof. Simply Fashion, of Birmingham, Ala., wants to build 24 stores in the Philadelphia region, primarily in neighborhoods serving African American and Hispanic shoppers. The women's apparel chain sells most of its garments for less than $30.
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