Five Below expands tween discount shopping opps

Five Below, one of a new breed of dollar store chains targeting tweens and teens, is forging ahead with the expansion and redesign of its outlets. Last month, the retailer opened a 10,000 square-foot shop in Downington, Pennsylvania, double the size of several of its existing sites that all feature trendy, affordable merch such as posters, games, room décor, iPod accessories and hot licensed products.

After opening two 8,000-square-foot stores last year, the company saw customers shopping more frequently and making bigger purchases on each trip. The extra floor space accommodates more category departments including sports, media, crafts, party, candy, room and style. The retailer is also upping its assortment of girls accessories. Plans are in the works to add two more larger-format stores in Virginia, bringing the number of outlets up to more than 50 nationwide, with Five Below looking to boost that number to 100 in the next few years.

Toys ‘R’ Us sets up shop in mainland China

Shanghai’s Super Brand Mall will house the first Toys ‘R’ Us store in mainland China. The 13-floor shopping center is located in the city’s Lujiazui financial district. The 25,800 square-foot flagship store stocked with 7,000 products is expected to satisfy a growing demand for educational toys among middle-class Chinese consumers.

‘Our focus is to open this first flagship store in the hottest commercial and retail area in Shanghai and learn about the mainland consumer’s toy shopping habits,’ says Argha Sen, head of marketing and CRM of Toys ‘R’ Us Asia. The store’s performance over the next year will help determine future expansion in Shanghai and mainland China. Toys ‘R’ Us Asia currently has 43 stores operating across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand and Macau.