Author: Justine Griffin
H&M opened its second store in Southwest Florida at Westfield Group’s Sarasota Square Mall.
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For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.
Pier One Imports opened a new store on Tamiami Trail in Sarasota on Monday.
The store, located at 3800 S. Tamiami Trail in the Paradise Plaza shopping center, opened in the former shell of the Borders Book & Music store. Pier One announced earlier this year that it would leave its space in the The Landings shopping plaza at 4768 South Tamiami Trail, for the bigger storefront closer to downtown Sarasota.
The home good retailer will give away reusable bags and back scratchers to customers who visit the new store now through Wednesday.
“We are pleased to bring this new Pier 1 Imports to Sarasota and hope that our new location will inspire customers to discover the eclectic and fun merchandise that is unique to Pier 1 Imports,” said Alex W. Smith, president and chief executive office of Pier 1 Imports, a prepared statement. “Pier 1 Imports offers merchandise that fits all decorating styles, as well as a broad array of affordable holiday décor, furniture and gifts, and we look forward to sharing our unique shopping experience with the residents of Sarasota and the surrounding.”
This is the 73rd Pier One location in Florida and features an updated store design.
For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.
Families are planning to spend more on mom this year than ever before, according to a recent study by the National Retail Federation.
The average American consumer will spend around $172.63 on jewelry, flowers, gift cards, brunch and clothes for mom and other family members. That’s up nearly $10 from last year, NRF data shows, and is the highest amount in the retail survey’s 12-year history.
Total spending is expected to reach $21.2 billion this year.
“We’re encouraged by the positive shift we’ve seen in spending on discretionary and gift items from consumers so far this year, certainly boding well for retailers across all spectrums who are planning to promote Mother’s Day specials, including home improvement, jewelry, apparel and other specialty retailers as well as restaurants,” said Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO.
Most consumers, or 80 percent, will buy a card for mom. That’s $786 million spent on cards this year. About two-thirds of shoppers will buy flowers, totaling to $2.4 billion nationwide. Apparel is another hot gift this year.
Brunch is the biggest Mother’s Day event with total spending reaching $3.8 billion, NRF data shows.
“Mother’s Day is extremely unique and personal for millions of consumers, and families this year will look for different ways to enjoy their time with mom,” said Prosper’s Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “While some will splurge, others will search high and low for the perfect, practical gift, knowing that she likes any gift that comes from the heart.”
Most shoppers will head to department stores to fight the right gift for mom.
Photo by Dan Wagner, Herald-Tribune staff
For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.
Richard’s Foodporium, a locally-based and family-owned chain of natural and specialty food stores, will open a new grocery store in North Port next month.
The new store will open in the The Shoppers of North Port shopping center at Tamiami Trail and Sumter Boulevard. The food retailer signed a lease for the 14999 Tamiami Trail space with Om Ventures on April 1. Construction has already begun, and the store is slated to open by the end of June.
The inside of the store will have a similar look and feel to other Richard’s stores in the Sarasota and Tampa Bay areas, and will sell a mix of bulk foods, vitamins, supplements and grocery goods.
Other tenants in the plaza include a Goodwill, H&R Block, Papa John’s Pizza and a You Fit Health Club, among others.
“We’re excited to be opening a store in North Port. We’ve received numerous requests from consumers there, and it’s a market
pocket we’ve wanted to fill for a long time,” said owner, John Rorer. “It’s a perfect location, and I expect this store to jump out quickly.”
Rorer said he saw an opportunity to be at the forefront of offering natural and specialty foods to the North Port community.
The new store will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Richard’s Foodporium has 18 grocery stores in Florida and 16 company-owned stores. The chain also operates a 22,000-square-foot warehouse complex in north Sarasota.
For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.