Page 11 - May2021

americas news
americas news inbrief

BIRKENSTOCK OPENS ITS

THIRD US FLAGSHIP CHIPOTLE TO OPEN NEW SITES
The fast-casual chain anticipates opening 200
new restaurants in 2021, assuming minimal
After experiencing one of its strongest years construction and permit delays related to
ever in 2020 — thanks to a global consumer Covid-19. The company, called Chipotle
shift toward comfortable (and comforting) Mexican Grill smashed its first quarter earnings
work-from-home fashion — the Germany- expectations amid a 17.2 per cent rise in same
based footwear brand is expanding its stores sales.
presence in the US by debuting a flagship
store in Brooklyn, New York’s hipster
haven of Williamsburg. The opening marks 7-ELEVEN EXPANDS CONCEPT
only the third stateside retail location for The retailer has opened the latest version of
the company, which now counts 54 owned its ‘evolution’ store format. The new location,
stores globally. in Prosper, Texas is 7-Eleven’s fourth evolution
Prior to the pandemic, Birkenstock had store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and
been taking a slow-and-steady approach seventh in the country, with additional sites in
to owned retail in the US. Its first the works for this year.
stateside flagship debuted in Nork’s SoHo
neighbourhood in 2018, followed by a
location in Venice Beach in 2019. AT HOME OPENS IN BIG APPLE
The value home decor retailers has entered a
STARBUCKS OPENING CENTRE TO big new market by launching its first-ever store
in New York City in the borough of Queens, in
FIND NEW WAYS TO BUILD STORES Rego Park, along with a location in Clarksville,
Indiana. The two new stores bring At Home’s
total store count to 226.
Starbucks Corp. along with Arizona State for Starbucks stores “and to inspire others
University are partnering to create a facility to design, build and operate portfolios
whose goal is to positively impact the future of buildings that minimise environmental FOREVER 21 TO MAKE RETURN
of the planet. impacts throughout their life cycle”, the Fashion retailer Forever 21 is returning in
The coffee giant and ASU are joining forces retailer stated. Burnaby to the city’s biggest mall with a new
to create the ASU-Starbucks Center for the As part of the effort, a roadmap is set to store after closing in Metropolis at Metrotown
Future of People and the Planet, a research be developed for Greener Stores education in 2019 amid a company-wide bankruptcy.
and rapid innovation aimed at finding new efforts, with a toolkit and learning library Forever 21 was founded in 1984 and rode a
ways to design, build and operate Starbucks that will be made available for Starbucks and wave of popularity in the mid-1990s.
stores. Scheduled to open in December additional industry stakeholders.
on ASU’s campus in Tempe, Arizona, the The nine licensed Starbucks stores that
facility will be built on the same principles are located throughout ASU’s four campuses DIGITAL-ONLY FOR TACO BELL
as Starbucks’ Tryer centre, an incubation lab in the Phoenix metro area will serve as You can get anything you want at the newest
at the company’s support centre in Seattle innovation labs to test and evaluate strategies Taco Bell restaurant - except for traditional
where employees can quickly test, learn, and resulting from centre research. In-store ordering. The quick-serve chain has opened
adapt ideas for more rapid decision making. testing will incllude new plant-based food and the doors to its first digital-only US location in
During its first year, the new centre will be beverage offerings designed to reduce carbon the heart of New York’s Times Square. The new
focused on greener stores. It will build-out intensity, strategies to improve recycling and location is designed to simplify and modernise
and open-source Starbucks’ Greener Stores circularity and new technologies including AI the consumer experience.
program to continue to innovate solutions and machine learning.

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MAY 2021 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL 11