Retail news: mall and brand expansion

Christmas is always a very special time at the biggest and best malls in the US, as crowds of shoppers flock to them to try and find the perfect gifts.

"Little Waitrose" convenience stores have been fitted with interactive touchscreen terminals to obtain customer feedback.

An announcement has been made by CBRE Group Inc. regarding its acquisition of IVI International Inc. and all its related companies.

Miami’s retail vacancies, already at an all-time low this past summer, have dipped even more in the past few months.

The proposed shopping center will become a 1.1 million square foot area of educational, cultural, public, hotel, restaurant and retail space.

Westfield Group, owners and operators of 40 global shopping centers, has managed a testing lab within the Westfield San Francisco Center.

Rouse Properties Inc. purchased Chesterfield Towne Center about 12 months ago, and have signed a lease agreement with H&M.

Ubudu, based in Paris, is due to launch its first U.S. implementation of uBeacon Mesh, during the first part of next year.

Ralph Lauren has opened its fifth U.S.-based store in the Galleria, Houston.

Arcoretail linked up with the giant Chinese Jihua corporation to produce a series of innovative retail destination centers across China.

Warnings have come from several large US retailers that local companies may be "decimated" by Alibaba, unless online retail tax loopholes are closed by Congress.

The famous London toy store, Hamleys, is planning to open stores in the US for the first time and is searching for stores in major airports and cities.