Whole Foods has finally made it official, setting the opening date of its long-anticipated Charlotte store: August 29.
The retailer has been one of Charlotte's most-desired stores for years, as residents waited while they popped up in other cities around North Carolina. The store, in the SouthPark area on Fairview Road, has been under construction for more than a year.
To promote the opening, Whole Foods and uptown's 7th Street Public Market are offering a pop-up shopping event this week. "The mini “store” inside the 7th Street Market will feature a small sampling of some of the groceries available at the Whole Foods Market opening in SouthPark," Whole Foods said in a press release.
The pop-up shop will run Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 224 East 7th Street.
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Clothes Mentor opening this week
Clothes Mentor, an upscale resale chain, is opening Thursday on Kings Drive, and the company says it has plans for two more stores in the Charlotte area.
The store carries lightly-used women's clothing from brands such as Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, and Gucci, and promises to sell them at a steep discount from what they would cost new. For example, Clothes Mentor says it sells Lily Pulitzer dresses for $25 to $50, and Coach and Kate Spade purses for $30 to $100.
The franchise store is owned locally by Shawn and Alyssa Cox. Alyssa is a Greenville, S.C. native and Queens University graduate, while Shawn is from western New York. He previously managed a restaurant in Charlotte, while Alyssa worked for an online handbag and shoe company.
The couple, who live in South End, plan to open two additional Clothes Mentor locations, in north and south Charlotte. Clothes Mentor promises high-quality used clothing in good condition, and buys items locally: "Clothes Mentor buys good-condition clothing from neighbors and is very picky about quality. Items must be current style, freshly laundered and free of stains, fading, missing buttons or broken zippers. Clothing can be brought in any time, without appointment. If accepted, customers receive cash on the spot."
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The store carries lightly-used women's clothing from brands such as Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, and Gucci, and promises to sell them at a steep discount from what they would cost new. For example, Clothes Mentor says it sells Lily Pulitzer dresses for $25 to $50, and Coach and Kate Spade purses for $30 to $100.
The franchise store is owned locally by Shawn and Alyssa Cox. Alyssa is a Greenville, S.C. native and Queens University graduate, while Shawn is from western New York. He previously managed a restaurant in Charlotte, while Alyssa worked for an online handbag and shoe company.
The couple, who live in South End, plan to open two additional Clothes Mentor locations, in north and south Charlotte. Clothes Mentor promises high-quality used clothing in good condition, and buys items locally: "Clothes Mentor buys good-condition clothing from neighbors and is very picky about quality. Items must be current style, freshly laundered and free of stains, fading, missing buttons or broken zippers. Clothing can be brought in any time, without appointment. If accepted, customers receive cash on the spot."
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Back-to-school spending to average $688
Getting kids ready for school isn't expected to be cheap: The National Retail Federation is predicting back-to-school spending will average more than $688 per K-12 student, up from $603 last year.
That's welcome news for retailers, as back-to-school spending is expected to count for $30.3 billion in total sales. Combined with an additional $50 billion or so in spending to get students ready to leave for college, that makes summer school shopping the second-biggest annual retail event, behind only the winter holidays, NRF says.
But everything isn't rosy. Even though shoppers are planning to spend more on backpacks, pencils, computers and other school-related supplies than last year, 85 percent of those surveyed by NRF said concerns about the economy will influence how, what, when and where they shop.
Here are a few more quick points from the NRF:
That's welcome news for retailers, as back-to-school spending is expected to count for $30.3 billion in total sales. Combined with an additional $50 billion or so in spending to get students ready to leave for college, that makes summer school shopping the second-biggest annual retail event, behind only the winter holidays, NRF says.
But everything isn't rosy. Even though shoppers are planning to spend more on backpacks, pencils, computers and other school-related supplies than last year, 85 percent of those surveyed by NRF said concerns about the economy will influence how, what, when and where they shop.
Here are a few more quick points from the NRF:
- Expect pretty good discounts. "We fully expect retailers to be aggressive with their promotions both in-store and online, keeping an eye on inventory levels as families look to spread out their shopping throughout the entire summer," said NRF chief executive Matthew Shay, in a statement.
- The percentage of shoppers surveyed who are buying at least one back-to-school item online has grown from 10.9 percent in 2003 to 39.6 percent this year.
- That 39.6 percent of shoppers buying things online are planning to spend $874, significantly more than the survey's average (I wonder if online shopping is correlated with a higher income level, or if online shoppers are more likely to be purchasing big-ticket items, like a new laptop).
- The number of people who need to do back-to-school shopping for K-12 students is pretty big: 3 in 10 families noted they have children ages 6 to 17.
- Preparing to send a college freshman away to school is the most expensive back-to-school shopping you can do. The average cost for outfitting a college freshman: $929. Don't worry, though: That drops to $680 for seniors.
Plaza-Midwood interior shop Slate expands
Slate Interiors, a multi-merchant interior furnishings store located on Central Avenue, plans to expand by 2,000 square feet, adding new merchants and artists as business grows.
Owner Debbie Hartnett said she hopes to complete the renovations and expansion with minimal disruptions to the store, and to remain open except for a day or two. The changes involve knocking down parts of a wall separating her store from adjacent storage space.
The Frank Scibelli-owned Midwood Smokehouse is located in the same building as Slate, and that restaurant is expanding as well. Hartnett said she'll lose some space to Midwood Smokehouse, but still gain more space in the end, expanding from 4,800 to 6,800 square feet.
"It'll be noisy, a little dusty, but I think the outcome will be positive," Hartnett said. "We were hoping to get it done before the DNC, but I'm not sure that will happen. It will be sometime in September."
Slate carries a mix of antique, vintage and modern interior furnishings from 30 merchants. The store also carries original art from 33 artists. Hartnett said the product mix and prices are designed to appeal to young professionals and the Millenial generation.
As part of the expansion, Hartnett said Slate will add six more merchant booths and 12 more artists. After that, the store will probably be the right size for the foreseeable future, she said.
"You want to be careful not to dilute your product, so to speak, and you want to keep a handle on your price point," said Hartnett. "It's really important that you only grow to a certain point and then hold it."
Hartnett said business has been strong, despite continuing economic uncertainty. "June was our biggest month, by far, in sales," she said. Many of her customers are doing fine, she said, though they are furnishing more modest homes than they might have been before the downturn.
"The homes that are selling are not the million-dollar homes, but the $350,000 to $500,000 homes, and those are the people that are coming in to buy products," she said. "They're buying a piece at a time, and they're very conscious of quality."
I previously wrote about Slate, which opened in late 2010, here.
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Owner Debbie Hartnett said she hopes to complete the renovations and expansion with minimal disruptions to the store, and to remain open except for a day or two. The changes involve knocking down parts of a wall separating her store from adjacent storage space.
The Frank Scibelli-owned Midwood Smokehouse is located in the same building as Slate, and that restaurant is expanding as well. Hartnett said she'll lose some space to Midwood Smokehouse, but still gain more space in the end, expanding from 4,800 to 6,800 square feet.
"It'll be noisy, a little dusty, but I think the outcome will be positive," Hartnett said. "We were hoping to get it done before the DNC, but I'm not sure that will happen. It will be sometime in September."
Slate carries a mix of antique, vintage and modern interior furnishings from 30 merchants. The store also carries original art from 33 artists. Hartnett said the product mix and prices are designed to appeal to young professionals and the Millenial generation.
As part of the expansion, Hartnett said Slate will add six more merchant booths and 12 more artists. After that, the store will probably be the right size for the foreseeable future, she said.
"You want to be careful not to dilute your product, so to speak, and you want to keep a handle on your price point," said Hartnett. "It's really important that you only grow to a certain point and then hold it."
Hartnett said business has been strong, despite continuing economic uncertainty. "June was our biggest month, by far, in sales," she said. Many of her customers are doing fine, she said, though they are furnishing more modest homes than they might have been before the downturn.
"The homes that are selling are not the million-dollar homes, but the $350,000 to $500,000 homes, and those are the people that are coming in to buy products," she said. "They're buying a piece at a time, and they're very conscious of quality."
I previously wrote about Slate, which opened in late 2010, here.
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Big Lots to open at Belmont
Belmont will soon have a new Big Lots, as the liquidation and closeout retailer plans to open a store there Friday, August 3.
The 21,200-square-foot store will open with a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. It's located in The Abbey Plaza shopping center, on Park Street. The company, which operates more than 1,450 stores, says it offers items for sale at up to 70 percent less than full-price retailers.
"We are confident this new store will prove to be a big hit with smart shoppers who are seeking better deals and bigger savings to combat the increasing costs of everyday living," said spokesman Rob Claxton, in a statement.
The 21,200-square-foot store will open with a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. It's located in The Abbey Plaza shopping center, on Park Street. The company, which operates more than 1,450 stores, says it offers items for sale at up to 70 percent less than full-price retailers.
"We are confident this new store will prove to be a big hit with smart shoppers who are seeking better deals and bigger savings to combat the increasing costs of everyday living," said spokesman Rob Claxton, in a statement.
Wine bar opens at Charlotte Douglas
Fliers have a new option to wine and dine at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Beaudevin. The new store is part of the airport and vendors' push to overhaul retail options at Charlotte Douglas.
Update: There are some local wine options, as several people have asked me about (see below). But they might not have spelled all the city names correctly...
Beaudevin is operated by HMS Host, the airport's food concession manager. HMS Host administers more than 50 airport concessions (concession map).
“We created Beaudevin as a place where travelers can experience fine wine and delicious cuisine while still
feeling relaxed, in an informal, European-inspired atmosphere,” said Stephen Douglas, Vice President,
Business Development HMSHost. “Reminiscent of a château cellar, Beaudevin puts beauty back into
traveling. We are very excited to partner with CLT to make the Charlotte traveler’s day better.”
The wine bar will feature more than 30 reds, whites and sparkling wines, as well as small, tapas-style plates and open sandwiches.
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Update: There are some local wine options, as several people have asked me about (see below). But they might not have spelled all the city names correctly...
Beaudevin is operated by HMS Host, the airport's food concession manager. HMS Host administers more than 50 airport concessions (concession map).
“We created Beaudevin as a place where travelers can experience fine wine and delicious cuisine while still
feeling relaxed, in an informal, European-inspired atmosphere,” said Stephen Douglas, Vice President,
Business Development HMSHost. “Reminiscent of a château cellar, Beaudevin puts beauty back into
traveling. We are very excited to partner with CLT to make the Charlotte traveler’s day better.”
The wine bar will feature more than 30 reds, whites and sparkling wines, as well as small, tapas-style plates and open sandwiches.
View Larger Map
Test marketing Wal-Mart Express
A story from my colleague Gloria Lloyd in this weekend's News & Observer goes into some detail about the new Wal-Mart Express stores that are popping up around North Carolina.
Five out of the 11 Wal-Mart Express stores to open so far have been in North Carolina, and several more are planned by the end of the year. The new Express-format stores are only about 15,000 square feet, less than twice the size of a typical Family Dollar and perhaps 1/3 the size of a full-scale grocery store.
Although Wal-Mart has come to dominate much of the grocery market with its massive Supercenters (last year, Wal-Mart overtook Harris Teeter to become the No. 1 grocer in the Charlotte region), the grocery market is always fluid. The latest competitor to nip at Wal-Mart's heels is smaller retailers such as Family Dollar and Dollar General.
Both of those chains, as well as fellow convenience stores such as Walgreens, have greatly increased the amount of food and other consumable items such as cigarettes and cosmetic products, that they stock. Small, easier-to-navigate stores, combined with many more locations, has given the small retailers an edge in capturing the "fill-in trip," many retail analysts say. Basically, a consumer who needs a gallon of milk now has the choice of a small convenience store two blocks away, or a Wal-Mart Supercenter five miles away.
The smaller stores also give Wal-Mart the ability to fill in smaller markets, such as rural areas that couldn't support a Supercenter, and urban areas where there isn't enough space. And if customers want a product that the Express store doesn't carry, such as a television, they can order it online and pick it up at the Express store.
Five out of the 11 Wal-Mart Express stores to open so far have been in North Carolina, and several more are planned by the end of the year. The new Express-format stores are only about 15,000 square feet, less than twice the size of a typical Family Dollar and perhaps 1/3 the size of a full-scale grocery store.
Although Wal-Mart has come to dominate much of the grocery market with its massive Supercenters (last year, Wal-Mart overtook Harris Teeter to become the No. 1 grocer in the Charlotte region), the grocery market is always fluid. The latest competitor to nip at Wal-Mart's heels is smaller retailers such as Family Dollar and Dollar General.
Both of those chains, as well as fellow convenience stores such as Walgreens, have greatly increased the amount of food and other consumable items such as cigarettes and cosmetic products, that they stock. Small, easier-to-navigate stores, combined with many more locations, has given the small retailers an edge in capturing the "fill-in trip," many retail analysts say. Basically, a consumer who needs a gallon of milk now has the choice of a small convenience store two blocks away, or a Wal-Mart Supercenter five miles away.
The smaller stores also give Wal-Mart the ability to fill in smaller markets, such as rural areas that couldn't support a Supercenter, and urban areas where there isn't enough space. And if customers want a product that the Express store doesn't carry, such as a television, they can order it online and pick it up at the Express store.
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